Apparatus, system and method to implement a configuration of a target node based on a change in the source node configuration during a conditional handover

ABSTRACT

An apparatus of a source Radio Access Network (RAN) node, a system, and a method. The apparatus includes one or more processors that configures a user equipment (UE) for a conditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to a candidate target RAN node based on at least one of a first configuration of the source RAN node or conditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover; and in response to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second configuration, configure the UE for the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on the second configuration by causing transmission of a message to the UE including information based on the second configuration.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/902,249 entitled “TARGET NODECONFIGURATION HANDLING FOR CONDITIONAL HANDOVER,” filed Sep. 18, 2019,the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Various embodiments generally relate to the field of cellularcommunications, and particularly to handovers.

BACKGROUND

Current Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Radio (NR)specifications (or 5G specifications) do not specifically address issuesrelated to configuration of a target node in the event of a change inthe configuration of a source node during a conditional handover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a system of a network, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of a system including a firstcore network, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture of a system including a second corenetwork in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment 400 inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a platform or device in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates example components of baseband circuitry and radiofront end modules (RFEM) in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented ina wireless communication device according to various embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram showing components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow according to one method embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow according to another method embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identifythe same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposesof explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth suchas particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects ofvarious embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the variousaspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examplesthat depart from these specific details. In certain instances,descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted soas not to obscure the description of the various embodiments withunnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrase“A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B).

Some embodiments are related to Radio Access Network 3 (RAN3) and/orRadio Access Network 2 (RAN2) layer communications.

Conditional HO (CHO) is being studied as part of the Third GenerationPartnership Project work items (WIs) “Even further Mobility Enhancementin E-UTRAN” and “NR Mobility Enhancement” approved in documentsRP-181475 and RP-181433 respectively, where multiple potential targetnodes can be prepared in advance among which the UE can then access onetarget node satisfying configured conditions.

For a conditional HO procedure, a source cell or source node (i.e. asource Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved Node B (eNB) or a source NewRadio (NR) Node B (gNB)), after having determined parameters for a CHOfor a UE, may send a HO request message to one or more candidate targetcells or target nodes (i.e. one or more candidate target eNBs orcandidate target gNB), where the HO request message may include thesource node's configuration. A candidate target node then sends a CHOcommand to the source node in a HO request acknowledgment message. Thesource node then sends a radio resource control (RRC) message to the UEincluding the CHO command from the candidate target node or cell, alongwith its own source node or cell configuration. The UE uses the CHOcommand from the candidate target cell in order to implement its ownhandover once one or more conditions for the CHO have been met.

Recently, RAN2 agreed that delta signaling is allowed for a CHO commandfrom a candidate target cell (i.e. based on the latest source cellconfiguration). Given that, as suggested above, a CHO command isgenerated by a potential candidate target cell, and is transparentlyforwarded to the UE by the source node in a RRC message as in the legacy(non-conditional) HO, the existing WI agreement on delta signaling forCHO command from a candidate target cell leaves some uncertainty on howto handle candidate target cell configurations in CHO.

In particular, the source cell configuration could be changed during CHObefore the UE handover to a target node has been executed. In CHO, theUE does not immediately execute HO upon receiving a command from thesource node. As a result, the network is free to modify the source cellconfiguration whenever desired until the CHO is triggered by virtue ofconfigured conditions having been satisfied. In addition, the candidatetarget cells are not always prepared simultaneously—Delta signaling forCHO commands prepared by different candidate target cells could be basedon different source cell configurations.

Embodiments provide mechanisms for a clear handling of delta signalingfor target cell configurations in the UE and the network during a CHO sothat a change in the source cell configuration during a configured CHOdoes not jeopardize executing a CHO that follows after a UE has beenconfigured for a CHO by a source node.

The 3GPP work group 2 (WG2) document R2-1911733 “An outcome of emaildiscussion for CHO configuration,” at Section 2.2, option 2, brieflydiscusses one option for the UE to store a delta configuration only.This requires a network to update the CHO command previously configuredin the UE based on the latest source configuration, if the sourceconfiguration is modified, but the stage-3 details for such signalingbetween the source cell and a potential target cell were nascent at thetime of R2-1911733. Another option that has been briefly discussed inR2-1911733 is for the UE to store complete target cell configuration.Again, the details for such a configuration were nascent at the time ofR2-1911733.

In the present disclosure we propose several embodiments.

According to a first embodiment, the source node may inform one or morecandidate target cells regarding its updated/latest sourceconfiguration. A candidate target cell may then update the delta CHOcommand that it had previously sent to the UE and therefore configuredin the UE based on the provided updated source configuration. Accordingto this first embodiment, since the network updates a delta CHO commandsbased on the latest source configuration, and reconfigures the delta CHOcommands accordingly, the UE needs to store the received candidatetarget cell configuration only for each candidate target cell that senta delta CHO command. However, network signaling between the source nodeand candidate target nodes is required according to the first embodimentfor reconfiguration of target cell configurations by way of theirrespective delta CHO commands, which is not efficient, especially whenmany candidate target cells are involved. Moreover, a size of the RRCreconfiguration message can be large if the UE has been configured withmany candidate target cells.

According to a second embodiment, the source node may inform one or morecandidate target nodes and the UE regarding its updated/latest sourcenode configuration, and if accepted by a candidate target cell, both thecandidate target node and the UE follow the existing delta CHO commandbut based on the latest source configuration. According to the secondembodiment, the candidate target node and the UE both know the latestsource configuration. In this embodiment, the delta CHO command is notupdated based on the updated source configuration, and is therefore notesent by the candidate target node to the source node and then forwardedby the source node to the UE. Embodiment two offers a variant ofembodiment one by skipping the reconfiguration of already configuredtarget cell configurations when the source configuration is modified.According to the second embodiment, the delta CHO command is still basedon the old source configuration, but the UE uses the updated sourceconfiguration that yields a change of target cell configuration from theprevious target node configuration admitted/configured by the candidatetarget cell. If the candidate target node effects this change, the UEmay then undergo a handover from the source node to the candidate targetnode based on the updated source node configuration. Similar to thefirst embodiment, the second embodiment still requires network signalingbetween the source node and the potential target nodes, for which targetnodes already configured delta CHO commands to the UE. According to someoptions within the second embodiment, if a candidate target cell doesnot accept the updated source configuration as a basis for CHO, amechanism based on the first embodiment may follow, and/or the candidatetarget cell can generate a full target cell configuration for the CHO,and/or the candidate target node may reject the HO request. In thelatter case, a HO cancel event/communication may follow.

According to a third embodiment, a UE does not execute CHO for acandidate target cell for which the updated target cell configuration isnot received in the form of an updated CHO command after the sourceconfiguration is changed and the change configuration signaled to the UEby the source node. The source node may not even contact targets whoalready provided delta CHO command with its updated configuration, andmay simply initiate HO cancel when modifying its configuration. In thealternative, the source node may contact those targets as in Embodiment2 where the UE does not perform CHO in case the target rejects therequest and does not provide the updated target cell configuration.

According to a fourth embodiment, a UE may separately store a baselinesource configuration for each delta CHO command. The fourth embodimentprovides a UE-based solution that does not require reconfiguration oftarget cell configurations or any relevant network signaling when thesource configuration changes during a CHO procedure. However, thebaseline source configuration could be different for different delta CHOcommands, which could consume large memory in the UE. However, UE memoryconsumption could be reduced by storing only the delta for the change ofthe source configuration. Nevertheless, under the latter regime, someinitial full source configuration should still be stored separately atthe UE at a minimum.

According to a fifth embodiment, a UE may convert an existing delta CHOcommand into new a delta CHO command based on the latest sourceconfiguration. The fifth embodiment provides a variant of the fourthembodiment, where the UE further processes and converts the previouslyconfigured delta CHO command, which was based on the old sourceconfiguration, into new delta CHO command based on the latest sourceconfiguration. Namely, all the delta CHO commands can be maintainedbased upon the latest source configuration. As a result, memoryconsumption according to the fifth embodiment is minimized similar tothe case in the first embodiment where the UE does not need to store asource node configuration separately because the current sourceconfiguration is baseline for all the delta CHO commands configured tothe UE. However, the fifth embodiment does require additional UEprocessing and battery consumption whenever the source configuration ismodified.

The first, second, fourth and fifth embodiments will be addressed infurther detail in the description below.

As noted previously, according to the first embodiment, the source nodemay inform one or more candidate target nodes regarding itsupdated/latest source configuration. A candidate target cell may thenupdate the delta CHO command that it had previously sent to the UE andtherefore configured in the UE based on the provided updated sourceconfiguration. The source node can request and indicate to a candidatetarget cell to update its delta CHO command based on the provided sourceconfiguration so that the target can provide the updated delta CHOcommand in the reply, such as in a HO request acknowledge message to thesource node, to be forwarded to the UE by the source node. Theindication regarding a source node configuration change from the sourcenode to a candidate target cell, or the indication regarding a sourcenode configuration change in the form of a new delta CHO command fromthe candidate target cell to the source node, may be carried by a newmessage, or within existing messages in 3GPP technical specifications.Some example implementations in the stage-3 technical specification (TS)TS 36.423 (for LTE) and TS 38.423 (for NR) follow below.

For TS 36.423, Section 9.1.1.1 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.1 Handover Request

-   -   This message is sent by the source eNB to the target eNB to        request the preparation of resources for a handover.    -   Direction: source eNB→target eNB.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.13 YES reject OldeNB UE X2AP M eNB UE Allocated at the YES reject ID X2AP ID source eNB9.2.24 Cause M 9.2.6 YES ignore Target node ID M ECGI YES reject 9.2.14GUMMEI M 9.2.16 YES reject UE Context 1 YES reject Information >MME UES1AP M INTEGER MME UE S1AP — ID (0 . . . 2³² − 1) ID allocated at theMME >UE Security M 9.2.29 — Capabilities >AS Security M 9.2.30 —Information >UE Aggregate M 9.2.12 — Maximum Bit Rate >Subscriber O9.2.25 — Profile ID for RAT/Frequency priority >E-RABs To Be 1 — SetupList >>E-RABs To 1 . . . EACH ignore Be Setup Item<maxnoofBearers> >>>E-RAB ID M 9.2.23 — >>>E-RAB M 9.2.9 Includes —Level QoS necessary QoS Parameters parameters >>>DL O 9.2.5 —Forwarding >>>UL GTP M GTP SGW endpoint — Tunnel Tunnel of the S1Endpoint Endpoint transport 9.2.1 bearer. For delivery of ULPDUs. >>>Bearer O 9.2.92 YES reject Type >RRC Context M OCTET Includesthe — STRING RRC HandoverPreparationInformation message as defined insubclause 10.2.2 of TS 36.331 [9], or the RRCHandoverPreparationInformation-NB message as defined in 10.6.2 of TS36.331 [9]. >Handover O 9.2.3 — Restriction List >Location O 9.2.21Includes the — Reporting necessary Information parameters for locationreporting >Management O 9.2.59 YES ignore Based MDT Allowed >ManagementO MDT YES ignore Based MDT PLMN List PLMN List 9.2.64 >UE Sidelink O9.2.97 This IE applies YES Ignore Aggregate only if the UE is MaximumBit authorized for Rate V2X services. UE History M 9.2.38 Samedefinition YES ignore Information as in TS 36.413 [4] Trace Activation O9.2.2 YES ignore SRVCC Operation O 9.2.33 YES ignore Possible CSGMembership O 9.2.52 YES reject Status Mobility O BIT Information YESignore Information STRING related to the (SIZE (32)) handover; thesource eNB provides it in order to enable later analysis of theconditions that led to a wrong HO. Masked IMEISV O 9.2.69 YES ignore UEHistory O OCTET VisitedCellInfoList YES ignore Information from STRINGcontained in the UE the UEInformationResponse message (TS 36.331 [9])Expected UE O 9.2.70 YES ignore Behaviour ProSe Authorized O 9.2.78 YESignore UE Context O YES ignore Reference at the SeNB >Global SeNB ID MGlobal eNB ID 9.2.22 >SeNB UE X2AP M eNB UE Allocated at the ID X2AP IDSeNB 9.2.24 >SeNB UE X2AP O Extended Allocated at the ID Extension eNBUE SeNB X2AP ID 9.2.86 Old eNB UE X2AP O Extended Allocated at the YESreject ID Extension eNB UE source eNB X2AP ID 9.2.86 V2X Services O9.2.93 YES ignore Authorized UE Context O YES ignore Reference at theWT >WT ID M 9.2.95 >WT UE XwAP ID M 9.2.96 UE Context O YES ignoreReference at the SgNB >Global en-gNB M 9.2.112 ID >SgNB UE X2AP M en-gNBUE Allocated at the — ID X2AP ID SgNB. 9.2.100 NR UE Security O 9.2.107YES ignore Capabilities Aerial UE O 9.2.129 YES ignore subscriptioninformation Subscription O 9.2.136 YES ignore Based UE DifferentiationInformation Update CHO O Enumerated Yes ignore Command (True, . . .)Range bound Explanation maxnoofBearers Maximum no. of E-RABs. Value is256 maxnoofMDTPLMNs PLMNs in the Management Based MDT PLMN list. Valueis 16.

A handover request X2AP message from a source eNB to a candidate targeteNB according to the above table may therefore include an enumeratedinformation element including a CHO update instruction to the candidatetarget eNB to cause the candidate target eNB to generate an updated CHOcommand based on a RRC context container from the source eNB to thecandidate target eNB comprising HO information including a latest sourceeNB configuration. The updated CHO command is sent by the candidatetarget eNB to the source eNB, and thereafter forwarded by the source eNBto the UE.

For TS 36.423, Section 9.1.1.2 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.2 Handover Request Acknowledge

-   -   This message is sent by the target eNB to inform the source eNB        about the prepared resources at the target.    -   Direction: target eNB→source eNB.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.13 YES reject OldeNB UE X2AP M eNB UE Allocated YES ignore ID X2AP ID at the 9.2.24source eNB New eNB UE X2AP M eNB UE Allocated YES ignore ID X2AP ID atthe 9.2.24 target eNB E-RABs Admitted 1 YES ignore List >E-RABs 1 . . .EACH ignore Admitted Item <maxnoofBearers> >>E-RAB ID M 9.2.23 — >>ULGTP O GTP Tunnel Identifies — Tunnel Endpoint the X2 Endpoint 9.2.1transport bearer used for forwarding of UL PDUs >>DL GTP O GTP TunnelIdentifies — Tunnel Endpoint the X2 Endpoint 9.2.1 transport bearer.used for forwarding of DL PDUs E-RABs Not O E-RAB List A value for YESignore Admitted List 9.2.28 E-RAB ID shall only be present once in E-RABs Admitted List IE and in E-RABs Not Admitted List IE. Target eNB ToM OCTET Includes YES ignore Source eNB STRING the RRC E- TransparentUTRA Container Handover Command message as defined in subclause 10.2.2in TS 36.331 [9] Updated Target O OCTET Includes Yes ignore eNB ToSource STRING the RRC E- eNB Transparent UTRA Container Handover Commandmessage as defined in subclause 10.2.2 in TS 36.331 [9] Criticality O9.2.7 YES ignore Diagnostics UE Context Kept O 9.2.85 YES ignoreIndicator Old eNB UE X2AP O Extended Allocated YES ignore ID ExtensioneNB UE at the X2AP ID source eNB 9.2.86 New eNB UE X2AP O ExtendedAllocated YES reject ID Extension eNB UE at the X2AP ID target eNB9.2.86 WT UE Context O UE Context Indicates YES ignore Kept IndicatorKept that the Indicator WT has 9.2.85 acknowledged to keep the UEcontext Range bound Explanation maxnoofBearers Maximum no. of E-RABs.Value is 256

A handover request acknowledge X2AP message from a candidate target eNBto a source eNB according to the above table may therefore include aninformation element including an Updated Target eNB To Source eNBTransparent Container carrying an updated CHO command message in theform of a RRC message to the source eNB to cause the source eNB to sendthe updated CHO command to the UE. The CHO command message may be inresponse to the update CHO command instruction from the source eNB tothe candidate target eNB.

For TS 38.423, Section 9.1.1.1 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.1 Handover Request

-   -   This message is sent by the source NG-RAN node to the target        NG-RAN node to request the preparation of resources for a        handover.    -   Direction: source NG-RAN node→target NG-RAN node.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.3.1 YES rejectSource NG-RAN M NG-RAN node Allocated at YES reject node UE XnAP UE XnAPID the source NG- ID reference 9.2.3.16 RAN node Cause M 9.2.3.2 YESreject Target node M 9.2.3.25 Includes either YES reject Global ID anE-UTRA CGI or an NR CGI GUAMI M 9.2.3.24 YES reject UE Context 1 YESreject Information >NG-C UE M AMF UE NGAP Allocated at — associated IDthe AMF on Signalling 9.2.3.26 the source NG- reference Cconnection. >Signalling TNL M CP Transport This IE — association Layerindicates the address at Information AMF's IP source NG-C 9.2.3.31address of the side SCTP association used at the source NG-C interfaceinstance. >UE Security M 9.2.3.49 — Capabilities >AS Security M 9.2.3.50— Information >lndex to O 9.2.3.23 — RAT/Frequency SelectionPriority >UE Aggregate M 9.2.3.17 — Maximum Bit Rate >PDU Session 19.2.1.1 Similar to NG-C — Resources To signalling, Be Setup Listcontaining UL tunnel information per PDU Session Resource; and inaddition, the source side QoS flow ⇔ DRB mapping >RRC Context M OCTETSTRING Either includes — the HandoverPreparationInformation message asdefined in subclause 10.2.2. of TS 36.331 [14], if the target NG- RANnode is an ng-eNB, or the HandoverPreparationInformation message asdefined in subclause 11.2.2 of TS 38.331 [10], if the target NG- RANnode is a gNB. >Location O 9.2.3.47 Includes the — Reporting necessaryInformation parameters for location reporting. >Mobility O 9.2.3.53 —Restriction List Trace Activation O 9.2.3.55 YES ignore Masked IMEISV O9.2.3.32 YES ignore UE History M 9.2.3.64 YES ignore Information UEContext O YES ignore Reference at the S-NG-RAN node >Global NG- M9.2.2.3 — RAN Node ID >S-NG-RAN M NG-RAN node — node UE XnAP UE XnAP IDID 9.2.3.16 Update CHO O Enumerated Yes ignore Command (True, . . .)

A handover request XnAP message from a source gNB to a candidate targetgNB according to the above table may therefore include an enumeratedinformation element including a CHO update instruction to the candidatetarget gNB to cause the candidate target gNB to generate an updated CHOcommand based on a RRC context container from the source gNB to thecandidate target gNB comprising HO information including a latest sourcegNB configuration. The updated CHO command is sent by the candidatetarget gNB to the source gNB, and thereafter forwarded by the source gNBto the UE.

For TS 38.423, Section 9.1.1.2 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.2 HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE

-   -   This message is sent by the target NG-RAN node to inform the        source NG-RAN node about the prepared resources at the target.    -   Direction: target NG-RAN node→source NG-RAN node.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.3.1 YES rejectSource NG-RAN M NG-RAN Allocated at YES ignore node UE XnAP ID node UEthe source NG- XnAP ID RAN node 9.2.3.16 Target NG-RAN M NG-RANAllocated at YES ignore node UE XnAP ID node UE the target NG- XnAP IDRAN node 9.2.3.16 PDU Session M 9.2.1.2 YES ignore Resources AdmittedList PDU Session O 9.2.1.3 YES ignore Resources Not Admitted List TargetNG-RAN M OCTET Either includes YES ignore node To Source STRING theNG-RAN node HandoverCommand message Transparent as defined in Containersubclause 10.2.2 of TS 36.331 [14], if the target NG- RAN node is anng-eNB, or the HandoverCommand message as defined in subclause 11.2.2 ofTS 38.331 [10], if the target NG- RAN node is a gNB. Updated Target OOCTET Either includes YES ignore NG-RAN node To STRING the Source NG-RANHandoverCommand message node Transparent as defined in Containersubclause 10.2.2 of TS 36.331 [14], if the target NG- RAN node is anng-eNB, or the HandoverCommand message as defined in subclause 11.2.2 ofTS 38.331 [10], if the target NG- RAN node is a gNB. UE Context Kept O9.2.3.68 YES ignore Indicator Criticality O 9.2.3.3 YES ignoreDiagnostics

A handover request acknowledge XnAP message from a candidate target gNBto a source gNB according to the above table may therefore include aninformation element including an Updated Target gNB To Source gNBTransparent Container carrying an updated CHO command message in theform of a RRC message to the source gNB to cause the source gNB to sendthe updated CHO command to the UE. The CHO command message may be inresponse to the update CHO command instruction from the source gNB tothe candidate target gNB.

As noted previously, in the second embodiment, the source node mayinform one or more candidate target nodes and the UE regarding itsupdated/latest source configuration, and if accepted by a candidatetarget cell, both the candidate target cell and the UE follow theexisting delta CHO command but based on the latest source configuration.According to the second embodiment, the candidate target node canindicate whether it accepts the modified target cell configuration basedon the latest source configuration provided from the source node. If themodified target cell configuration is accepted by the target node, noRRC reconfiguration is necessary by way of an updated target cell CHOcommand forwarded by the source node to the UE. If the candidate targetcell does not accept the source configuration change, however, accordingto one option, it may send a new delta CHO command to the source node tobe forwarded to the UE again, as in the first embodiment. The indicationregarding the acceptance by a candidate target node of a new target cellconfiguration may be carried by a new message, or within existingmessages in 3GPP technical specifications. Some example implementationsin the stage-3 technical specification (TS) TS 36.423 (for LTE) and TS38.423 (for NR) follow below.

For TS 36.423, Section 9.1.1.2 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.2 HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE

-   -   This message is sent by the target eNB to inform the source eNB        about the prepared resources at the target.    -   Direction: target eNB→source eNB.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message M 9.2.13 YES reject Type OldeNB UE M eNB UE X2AP Allocated at YES ignore X2AP ID ID the source9.2.24 eNB New eNB UE M eNB UE X2AP Allocated at YES ignore X2AP ID IDthe target 9.2.24 eNB E-RABs 1 YES ignore Admitted List >E-RABs 1 . . .EACH ignore Admitted <maxnoofBearers> Item >>E-RAB M 9.2.23 — ID >>ULGTPO GTP Tunnel Identifies the — Tunnel Endpoint X2 transport Endpoint9.2.1 bearer used for forwarding of UL PDUs >>DL GTP O GTP TunnelIdentifies the — Tunnel Endpoint X2 transport Endpoint 9.2.1 bearer.used for forwarding of DL PDUs E-RABs Not O E-RAB List A value for E-YES ignore Admitted List 9.2.28 RAB ID shall only be present once inE-RABs Admitted List IE and in E- RABs Not Admitted List IE. Target eNBM OCTET Includes the YES ignore To Source STRING RRC E-UTRA eNB HandoverTransparent Command Container message as defined in subclause 10.2.2 inTS 36.331 [9] Modified O Enumerated Yes ignore Target node (True, . . .)Configuration Accept Indicator Criticality O 9.2.7 YES ignoreDiagnostics UE Context O 9.2.85 YES ignore Kept Indicator Old eNB UE OExtended Allocated at YES ignore X2AP ID eNB UE X2AP the sourceExtension ID eNB 9.2.86 New eNB UE O Extended Allocated at YES rejectX2AP ID eNB UEX2AP the target Extension ID eNB 9.2.86 WT UE O UE ContextIndicates YES ignore Context Kept Kept that the WT Indicator Indicatorhas 9.2.85 acknowledged to keep the UE context Range bound ExplanationmaxnoofBearers Maximum no. of E-RABs. Value is 256

A handover request acknowledge X2AP message from a candidate target eNBto a source eNB according to the above table may therefore include aninformation element including an enumerated Modified Target nodeConfiguration Accept Indicator. The Modified Target node ConfigurationAccept Indicator may be included in response to a message includinginformation on a modified source eNB configuration from the source eNBto the candidate target eNB.

For TS 38.423, Section 9.1.1.2 may state as follows below.

9.1.1.2 HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE

-   -   This message is sent by the target NG-RAN node to inform the        source NG-RAN node about the prepared resources at the target.    -   Direction: target NG-RAN node→source NG-RAN node.

IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range referencedescription Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.3.1 YES rejectSource NG-RAN M NG-RAN node Allocated at YES ignore node UE XnAP ID UEXnAP ID the source 9.2.3.16 NG-RAN node Target NG-RAN M NG-RAN nodeAllocated at YES ignore node UE XnAP ID UE XnAP ID the target 9.2.3.16NG-RAN node PDU Session M 9.2.1.2 YES ignore Resources Admitted List PDUSession O 9.2.1.3 YES ignore Resources Not Admitted List Target NG-RAN MOCTET Either YES ignore node To Source STRING includes the NG-RAN nodeHandoverCommand Transparent message as Container defined in subclause10.2.2 of TS 36.331 [14], if the target NG-RAN node is an ng-eNB, or theHandoverCommand message as defined in subclause 11.2.2 of TS 38.331[10], if the target NG-RAN node is a gNB. Modified Target O EnumeratedYES ignore node (True, . . .) Configuration Accept Indicator UE ContextKept O 9.2.3.68 YES ignore Indicator Criticality O 9.2.3.3 YES ignoreDiagnostics

A handover request acknowledge XnAP message from a candidate target gNBto a source gNB according to the above table may therefore include aninformation element including an enumerated Modified Target nodeConfiguration Accept Indicator. The Modified Target node ConfigurationAccept Indicator may be included in response to a message includinginformation on a modified source gNB configuration from the source gNBto the candidate target gNB.

According to the fourth embodiment, as previously noted, the UE mayseparately store a baseline source configuration for each delta CHOcommand. Considering a scenario where the UE is already configured byway of a delta CHO command for a candidate target cell A, which isbaselined on a source configuration 0, then:

SRC Configuration 0+Δ Target cell A CHO CMD=>Target cell A FullConfiguration

where “SRC” refers to the source node, and “CHO CMD” refers to a CHOcommand.

Assuming that the source node updates its source configuration to SRCConfiguration 1 and the UE is configured with another delta CHO commandfor target cell B based on SRC Configuration 1, then:

SRC Configuration 1+Δ Target cell B CHO CMD=>Target cell B FullConfiguration

Where multiple candidate target cells exist, such as target cell A andtarget cell B, the UE may need to separately store SRC Configuration 0and SRC Configuration 1, as a baseline for A Target cell A CHO CMD and ATarget cell B CHO CMD respectively in order to be able to restore a fulltarget cell configuration to be used upon CHO execution for each oftarget cell A and target cell B. However, according to an alternative,if delta signaling is used from the source node to signal change ofsource configuration to the UE, the information in such delta signalingcan be stored at the UE instead, and thus reduce memory consumption.Even where the source node does not use delta signaling to signal achange in its configuration, the UE may generate the delta for storingby comparing the source configuration that have been configured in theUE from the full source configuration that is received/updated from thesource node, and may thus reduce memory consumption. If we denote Δ SRC1as a delta for SRC Configuration 1 from SRC Configuration 0, then the UEcan restore target cell B full configuration by using Δ SRC1 and withoutstoring the full SRC Configuration 1 separately, as suggested by thebelow:

SRC Configuration 0+Δ SRC1+Δ Target cell B CHO CMD=>Target cell B FullConfiguration.

According to the fifth embodiment, as noted previously, the UE mayconvert an existing delta CHO command into new delta based on the latestsource configuration. According to this embodiment, the source node maysend its updated configuration information to the UE without sending itto a candidate target node. From the above example scenario in thefourth embodiment, the UE can, instead of receiving an updated CHOcommand from the candidate target cell, process and convert thecandidate target cell configuration on its own, e.g. A Target cell A CHOCMD, into a new delta, based the updated/latest source configuration byusing the following solution:

SRC Configuration 0+Δ Target cell A CHO CMD=>Target cell A FullConfiguration  1.

Target cell A Full Configuration−SRC Configuration 1=>new Δ Target cellA CHO CMD  2.

Since all the delta CHO commands configured in the UE can be maintainedbased upon the latest source configuration that the UE is currentlyoperating, the UE does not have to separately store a sourceconfiguration for restoring full target cell

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a system 100 of a network,in accordance with various embodiments. The following description isprovided for an example system 100 that operates in conjunction with theLTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPPtechnical specifications. However, the example embodiments are notlimited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to othernetworks that benefit from the principles described herein, such asfuture 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), or the like.

As shown by FIG. 1, the system 100 includes UE 101 a and UE 101 b(collectively referred to as “UEs 101” or “UE 101”). In this example,UEs 101 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreenmobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks),but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such asconsumer electronics devices, cellular phones, smartphones, featurephones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handsets, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE)devices, an Instrument Cluster (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices,onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobiledata terminals (MDTs), Electronic Engine Management System (EEMS),electronic/engine control units (ECUs), electronic/engine controlmodules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules,engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” appliances, MTCdevices, M2M, IoT devices, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 may be IoT UEs, which maycomprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applicationsutilizing short-lived UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologiessuch as M2M or MTC for exchanging data with an MTC server or device viaa PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks.The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange ofdata. An IoT network describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which mayinclude uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within theInternet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs mayexecute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, statusupdates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network. In someof these embodiments, the UEs 101 may be NB-IoT UEs 101. NB-IoT providesaccess to network services using physical layer optimized for very lowpower consumption (e.g., full carrier BW is 180 kHz, subcarrier spacingcan be 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz). A number of E-UTRA functions are not usedfor NB-IoT and need not be supported by RAN nodes 111 and UEs 101 onlyusing NB-IoT. Examples of such E-UTRA functions may include inter-RATmobility, handover, measurement reports, public warning functions, GBR,CSG, support of HeNBs, relaying, carrier aggregation, dual connectivity,NAICS, MBMS, real-time services, interference avoidance for in-devicecoexistence, RAN assisted WLAN interworking, sidelinkcommunication/discovery, MDT, emergency call, CS fallback,self-configuration/self-optimization, among others. For NB-IoToperation, a UE 101 operates in the DL using 12 sub-carriers with asub-carrier BW of 15 kHz, and in the UL using a single sub-carrier witha sub-carrier BW of either 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz or alternatively 3, 6 or12 sub-carriers with a sub-carrier BW of 15 kHz.

In various embodiments, the UEs 101 may be MF UEs 101. MF UEs 101 areLTE-based UEs 101 that operate (exclusively) in unlicensed spectrum.This unlicensed spectrum is defined in MF specifications provided by theMulteFire Forum, and may include, for example, 1.9 GHz (Japan), 3.5 GHz,and 5 GHz. MulteFire is tightly aligned with 3GPP standards and buildson elements of the 3GPP specifications for LAA/eLAA, augmenting standardLTE to operate in global unlicensed spectrum. In some embodiments, LBTmay be implemented to coexist with other unlicensed spectrum networks,such as WiFi, other LAA networks, or the like. In various embodiments,some or all UEs 101 may be NB-IoT UEs 101 that operate according to MF.In such embodiments, these UEs 101 may be referred to as “MF NB-IoT UEs101,” however, the term “NB-IoT UE 101” may refer to an “MF UE 101” oran “MF and NB-IoT UE 101” unless stated otherwise. Thus, the terms“NB-IoT UE 101,” “MF UE 101,” and “MF NB-IoT UE 101” may be usedinterchangeably throughout the present disclosure.

The UEs 101 may be configured to connect, for example, communicativelycouple, with an or RAN 110. In embodiments, the RAN 110 may be an NG RANor a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, an MF RAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN orGERAN. As used herein, the term “NG RAN” or the like may refer to a RAN110 that operates in an NR or 5G system 100, the term “E-UTRAN” or thelike may refer to a RAN 110 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 100,and the term “MF RAN” or the like refers to a RAN 110 that operates inan MF system 100. The UEs 101 utilize connections (or channels) 103 and104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communicationsinterface or layer (discussed in further detail below). The connections103 and 104 may include several different physical DL channels andseveral different physical UL channels. As examples, the physical DLchannels include the PDSCH, PMCH, PDCCH, EPDCCH, MPDCCH, R-PDCCH,SPDCCH, PBCH, PCFICH, PHICH, NPBCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, and/or any otherphysical DL channels mentioned herein. As examples, the physical ULchannels include the PRACH, PUSCH, PUCCH, SPUCCH, NPRACH, NPUSCH, and/orany other physical UL channels mentioned herein.

In this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an airinterface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent withcellular communications protocols, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMAnetwork protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and/or any of the othercommunications protocols discussed herein. In embodiments, the UEs 101may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. TheProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface105 and may comprise one or more physical and/or logical channels,including but not limited to the PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

The UE 101 b is shown to be configured to access an AP 106 (alsoreferred to as “WLAN node 106,” “WLAN 106,” “WLAN Termination 106,” “WT106” or the like) via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise alocal wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless fidelity(Wi-Fi®) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown to be connected tothe Internet without connecting to the core network of the wirelesssystem (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, theUE 101 b, RAN 110, and AP 106 may be configured to utilize LWA operationand/or LWIP operation. The LWA operation may involve the UE 101 b inRRC_CONNECTED being configured by a RAN node 111 a-b to utilize radioresources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve the UE 101 b usingWLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 107) via IPsec protocol tunnelingto authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over theconnection 107. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entiretyof original IP packets and adding a new packet header, therebyprotecting the original header of the IP packets.

The RAN 110 can include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 111 a and 111b (collectively referred to as “RAN nodes 111” or “RAN node 111”) thatenable the connections 103 and 104. As used herein, the terms “accessnode,” “access point,” or the like may describe equipment that providesthe radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity betweena network and one or more users. These access nodes can be referred toas BS, gNBs, gNodeBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, eNodeBs, NodeBs, RSUs, MF-APs,TRxPs or TRPs, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g.,terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coveragewithin a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the term “NGRAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node 111 that operates in an NRor 5G system 100 (e.g., a gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” or the likemay refer to a RAN node 111 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 100(e.g., an eNB). According to various embodiments, the RAN nodes 111 maybe implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as amacrocell base station, and/or a low power (LP) base station forproviding femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smallercoverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher BW compared tomacrocells.

In some embodiments, all or parts of the RAN nodes 111 may beimplemented as one or more software entities running on server computersas part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and/ora virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN orvBBUP may implement a RAN function split, such as a PDCP split whereinRRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and other L2 protocolentities are operated by individual RAN nodes 111; a MAC/PHY splitwherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUPand the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 111; or a “lowerPHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of thePHY layer are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and lower portions of the PHYlayer are operated by individual RAN nodes 111. This virtualizedframework allows the freed-up processor cores of the RAN nodes 111 toperform other virtualized applications. In some implementations, anindividual RAN node 111 may represent individual gNB-DUs that areconnected to a gNB-CU via individual F1 interfaces (not shown by FIG.1). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remoteradio heads or RFEMs (see e.g., FIG. 4), and the gNB-CU may be operatedby a server that is located in the RAN 110 (not shown) or by a serverpool in a similar manner as the CRAN/vBBUP. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 111 may be next generationeNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane andcontrol plane protocol terminations toward the UEs 101, and areconnected to a 5GC (e.g., CN 320 of FIG. 3) via an NG interface(discussed infra). In MF implementations, the MF-APs 111 are entitiesthat provide MulteFire radio services, and may be similar to eNBs 111 inan 3GPP architecture. Each MF-AP 111 includes or provides one or more MFcells.

In V2X scenarios one or more of the RAN nodes 111 may be or act as RSUs.The term “Road Side Unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportationinfrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may beimplemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relativelystationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referredto as a “UE-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may bereferred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by a gNB maybe referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” and the like. In one example, an RSUis a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located ona roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs 101(vUEs 101). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry tostore intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well asapplications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular andpedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct ShortRange Communications (DSRC) band to provide very low latencycommunications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance,traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSUmay operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned lowlatency communications, as well as other cellular communicationsservices. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fihotspot (2.4 GHz band) and/or provide connectivity to one or morecellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Thecomputing device(s) and some or all of the radiofrequency circuitry ofthe RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoorinstallation, and may include a network interface controller to providea wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controllerand/or a backhaul network.

Any of the RAN nodes 111 can terminate the air interface protocol andcan be the first point of contact for the UEs 101. In some embodiments,any of the RAN nodes 111 can fulfill various logical functions for theRAN 110 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC)functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamicradio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobilitymanagement.

In embodiments, the UEs 101 can be configured to communicate using OFDMcommunication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 111over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with variouscommunication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMAcommunication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SC-FDMAcommunication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelinkcommunications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited inthis respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers.

Downlink and uplink transmissions may be organized into frames with 10ms durations, where each frame includes ten 1 ms subframes. A slotduration is 14 symbols with Normal CP and 12 symbols with Extended CP,and scales in time as a function of the used sub-carrier spacing so thatthere is always an integer number of slots in a subframe. In LTEimplementations, a DL resource grid can be used for DL transmissionsfrom any of the RAN nodes 111 to the UEs 101, while UL transmissionsfrom the UEs 101 to RAN nodes 111 can utilize a suitable UL resourcegrid in a similar manner. These resource grids may refer totime-frequency grids, and indicate physical resource in the DL or UL ineach slot. Each column and each row of the DL resource grid correspondsto one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively, and eachcolumn and each row of the UL resource grid corresponds to one SC-FDMAsymbol and one SC-FDMA subcarrier, respectively. The duration of theresource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The resource grids comprises a number of RBs, which describe themapping of certain physical channels to REs. In the frequency domain,this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently canbe allocated. Each RB comprises a collection of REs. An RE is thesmallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid. Each RE is uniquelyidentified by the index pair (k,l) in a slot where k=0, . . . , N_(RB)^(DL)N_(sc) ^(RB)−1 and l=0, . . . , N_(symb) ^(DL)−1 are the indices inthe frequency and time domains, respectively. RE (k,l) on antenna port pcorresponds to the complex value a_(k,l) ^((p)). An antenna port isdefined such that the channel over which a symbol on the antenna port isconveyed can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol onthe same antenna port is conveyed. There is one resource grid perantenna port. The set of antenna ports supported depends on thereference signal configuration in the cell, and these aspects arediscussed in more detail in 3GPP TS 36.211.

In NR/5G implementations, DL and UL transmissions are organized intoframes with 10 ms durations each of which includes ten 1 ms subframes.The number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe is N_(symb)^(subframe,μ)=N_(symb) ^(slot)N_(slot) ^(subframe,μ). Each frame isdivided into two equally-sized half-frames of five subframes each with ahalf-frame 0 comprising subframes 0-4 and a half-frame 1 comprisingsubframes 5-9. There is one set of frames in the UL and one set offrames in the DL on a carrier. Uplink frame number i for transmissionfrom the UE 101 starts T_(TA)=(N_(TA)+N_(TA,offset))T_(c) before thestart of the corresponding downlink frame at the UE where N_(TA,offset)is given by 3GPP TS 38.213. For subcarrier spacing configuration μ,slots are numbered n_(s) ^(μ)∈{0, . . . , N_(slot) ^(subframe,μ)−1} inincreasing order within a subframe and n_(s,f) ^(μ)∈{0, . . . , N_(slot)^(frame,μ)−1} in increasing order within a frame. There are N_(symb)^(slot) consecutive OFDM symbols in a slot where N_(symb) ^(slot)depends on the cyclic prefix as given by tables 4.3.2-1 and 4.3.2-2 of3GPP TS 38.211. The start of slot n_(s) ^(μ) in a subframe is aligned intime with the start of OFDM symbol n_(s) ^(μ)N_(symb) ^(slot) in thesame subframe. OFDM symbols in a slot can be classified as ‘downlink’,‘flexible’, or ‘uplink’, where downlink transmissions only occur in‘downlink’ or ‘flexible’ symbols and the UEs 101 only transmit in‘uplink’ or ‘flexible’ symbols.

For each numerology and carrier, a resource grid of N_(grid,x)^(size,μ)N_(sc) ^(RB) subcarriers and N_(symb) ^(subframe,μ) OFDMsymbols is defined, starting at common RB N_(grid) ^(start,μ) indicatedby higher-layer signaling. There is one set of resource grids pertransmission direction (i.e., uplink or downlink) with the subscript xset to DL for downlink and x set to UL for uplink. There is one resourcegrid for a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration μ, andtransmission direction (i.e., downlink or uplink).

An RB is defined as N_(sc) ^(RB)=12 consecutive subcarriers in thefrequency domain. Common RBs are numbered from 0 and upwards in thefrequency domain for subcarrier spacing configuration μ. The center ofsubcarrier 0 of common resource block 0 for subcarrier spacingconfiguration μ coincides with ‘point A’. The relation between thecommon resource block number n_(CRB) ^(μ) in the frequency domain andresource elements (k,l) for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is givenby

$n_{CRB}^{\mu} = \left\lfloor \frac{k}{N_{sc}^{RB}} \right\rfloor$

where k is defined relative to point A such that k=0 corresponds to thesubcarrier centered around point A. Point A serves as a common referencepoint for resource block grids and is obtained from offsetToPointA for aPCell downlink where offsetToPointA represents the frequency offsetbetween point A and the lowest subcarrier of the lowest resource block,which has the subcarrier spacing provided by the higher-layer parametersubCarrierSpacingCommon and overlaps with the SS/PBCH block used by theUE for initial cell selection, expressed in units of resource blocksassuming 15 kHz subcarrier spacing for FR1 and 60 kHz subcarrier spacingfor FR2; and absoluteFrequencyPointA for all other cases whereabsoluteFrequencyPointA represents the frequency-location of point Aexpressed as in ARFCN.

A PRB for subcarrier configuration μ are defined within a BWP andnumbered from 0 to N_(BWP,i) ^(subframe,μ)−1 where i is the number ofthe BWP. The relation between the physical resource block n_(PRB) ^(μ)in BWPi and the common RB n_(CRB) ^(μ) is given by n_(CRB) ^(μ)=n_(PRB)^(μ)+N_(BWP,i) ^(start,μ) where N_(BWP,i) ^(start,μ) is the common RBwhere BWP starts relative to common RB 0. VRBs are defined within a BWPand numbered from 0 to N_(BWP,i) ^(size)−1 where i is the number of theBWP.

Each element in the resource grid for antenna port p and subcarrierspacing configuration μ is called an RE and is uniquely identified by(k,l)_(p,μ) where k is the index in the frequency domain and I refers tothe symbol position in the time domain relative to some reference point.Resource element (k,l)_(p,μ) corresponds to a physical resource and thecomplex value a_(k,l) ^((p,μ)). An antenna port is defined such that thechannel over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed can beinferred from the channel over which another symbol on the same antennaport is conveyed. Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located ifthe large-scale properties of the channel over which a symbol on oneantenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which asymbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. The large-scale propertiesinclude one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift,average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters.

A BWP is a subset of contiguous common resource blocks defined insubclause 4.4.4.3 of 3GPP TS 38.211 for a given numerology μ_(i) inBWP^(i) on a given carrier. The starting position N_(BWP,i) ^(start,μ)and the number of resource blocks N_(BWP,i) ^(size,μ) in a BWP shallfulfil N_(grid,x) ^(start,μ)≤N_(BWP,i) ^(start,μ)<N_(grid,x)^(start,μ)+N_(grid,x) ^(start,μ) and N_(grid,x) ^(start,μ)<N_(BWP,i)^(start,μ)+N_(BWP,i) ^(size,μ)≤N_(grix,x) ^(start,μ)+N_(grid,x)^(size,μ), respectively. Configuration of a BWP is described in clause12 of 3GPP TS 38.213. The UEs 101 can be configured with up to four BWPsin the DL with a single DL BWP being active at a given time. The UEs 101are not expected to receive PDSCH, PDCCH, or CSI-RS (except for RRM)outside an active BWP. The UEs 101 can be configured with up to fourBWPs in the UL with a single UL BWP being active at a given time. If aUE 101 is configured with a supplementary UL, the UE 101 can beconfigured with up to four additional BWPs in the supplementary UL witha single supplementary UL BWP being active at a given time. The UEs 101do not transmit PUSCH or PUCCH outside an active BWP, and for an activecell, the UEs do not transmit SRS outside an active BWP.

An NB is defined as six non-overlapping consecutive PRBs in thefrequency domain. The total number of DL NBs in the DL transmission BWconfigured in the cell is given by

$N_{NB}^{DL} = {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL}}{6} \right\rfloor.}$

The NBs are numbered n_(NB)=0, . . . , N_(NB) ^(DL)−1 in order ofincreasing PRB number where narrowband n_(NB) is comprises PRB indices:

$\left\{ {\begin{matrix}{{6n_{NB}} + i_{0} + i} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{RB}^{UL}{mod}\; 2} = 0} \\{{6n_{NB}} + i_{0} + i} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{RB}^{UL}{mod}\; 2} = {{1\mspace{14mu} {and}\mspace{14mu} n_{NB}} < {N_{NB}^{UL}/2}}} \\{{6n_{NB}} + i_{0} + i + 1} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} N_{RB}^{UL}{mod}\; 2} = {{1\mspace{14mu} {and}\mspace{14mu} n_{NB}} \geq {N_{NB}^{UL}/2}}}\end{matrix},{i = 0},1,\text{...},{{5{where}\mspace{14mu} i_{0}} = {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{UL}}{2} \right\rfloor - {\frac{6N_{NB}^{UL}}{2}.}}}} \right.$

If N_(NB) ^(UL)≥4, a wideband is defined as four non-overlappingnarrowbands in the frequency domain. The total number of uplinkwidebands in the uplink transmission bandwidth configured in the cell isgiven by

$N_{WB}^{UL} = \left\lfloor \frac{N_{NB}^{UL}}{4} \right\rfloor$

and the widebands are numbered n_(WB)=0, . . . , N_(WB) ^(UL)−1 in orderof increasing narrowband number where wideband n_(WB) is composed ofnarrowband indices 4n_(WB)+i where i=0, 1, . . . , 3. If N_(NB) ^(UL)<4,then N_(WB) ^(UL)=1 and the single wideband is composed of the N_(NB)^(UL) non-overlapping narrowband(s).

There are several different physical channels and physical signals thatare conveyed using RBs and/or individual REs. A physical channelcorresponds to a set of REs carrying information originating from higherlayers. Physical UL channels may include PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH, and/or anyother physical UL channel(s) discussed herein, and physical DL channelsmay include PDSCH, PBCH, PDCCH, and/or any other physical DL channel(s)discussed herein. A physical signal is used by the physical layer (e.g.,PHY 710 of FIG. 7) but does not carry information originating fromhigher layers. Physical UL signals may include DMRS, PTRS, SRS, and/orany other physical UL signal(s) discussed herein, and physical DLsignals may include DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, and/or any otherphysical DL signal(s) discussed herein.

The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 101.Typically, DL scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resourceblocks to the UE 101 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RANnodes 111 based on channel quality information fed back from any of theUEs 101. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on thePDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101. The PDCCH usesCCEs to convey control information (e.g., DCI), and a set of CCEs may bereferred to a “control region.” Control channels are formed byaggregation of one or more CCEs, where different code rates for thecontrol channels are realized by aggregating different numbers of CCEs.The CCEs are numbered from 0 to N_(CCE,k)−1, where N_(CCE,k)−1 is thenumber of CCEs in the control region of subframe k. Before being mappedto REs, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized intoquadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaverfor rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ofthese CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physicalREs known as REGs. Four QPSK symbols may be mapped to each REG. ThePDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the sizeof the DCI and the channel condition. There can be four or moredifferent PDCCH formats defined with different numbers of CCEs (e.g.,aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8 in LTE and L=1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 inNR). The UE 101 monitors a set of PDCCH candidates on one or moreactivated serving cells as configured by higher layer signaling forcontrol information (e.g., DCI), where monitoring implies attempting todecode each of the PDCCHs (or PDCCH candidates) in the set according toall the monitored DCI formats (e.g., DCI formats 0 through 6-2 asdiscussed in section 5.3.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212, DCI formats 0_0 through2_3 as discussed in section 7.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212, or the like). The UEs101 monitor (or attempt to decode) respective sets of PDCCH candidatesin one or more configured monitoring occasions according to thecorresponding search space configurations. A DCI transports DL, UL, orSL scheduling information, requests for aperiodic CQI reports, LAAcommon information, notifications of MCCH change, UL power controlcommands for one cell and/or one RNTI, notification of a group of UEs101 of a slot format, notification of a group of UEs of the PRB(s) andOFDM symbol(s) where UE may assume no transmission is intended for theUE, TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH, and/or TPC commands for PUCCH andPUSCH. The DCI coding steps are discussed in 3GPP TS 38.212.

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that usesPDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may betransmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to above, each ECCE maycorrespond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as anEREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

As alluded to previously, the PDCCH can be used to schedule DLtransmissions on PDSCH and UL transmissions on PUSCH, wherein the DCI onPDCCH includes, inter alia, downlink assignments containing at leastmodulation and coding format, resource allocation, and HARQ informationrelated to DL-SCH; and/or uplink scheduling grants containing at leastmodulation and coding format, resource allocation, and HARQ informationrelated to UL-SCH. In addition to scheduling, the PDCCH can be used tofor activation and deactivation of configured PUSCH transmission(s) withconfigured grant; activation and deactivation of PDSCH semi-persistenttransmission; notifying one or more UEs 101 of a slot format; notifyingone or more UEs 101 of the PRB(s) and OFDM symbol(s) where a UE 101 mayassume no transmission is intended for the UE; transmission of TPCcommands for PUCCH and PUSCH; transmission of one or more TPC commandsfor SRS transmissions by one or more UEs 101; switching an active BWPfor a UE 101; and initiating a random access procedure.

In NR implementations, the UEs 101 monitor (or attempt to decode)respective sets of PDCCH candidates in one or more configured monitoringoccasions in one or more configured CORESETs according to thecorresponding search space configurations. A CORESET may include a setof PRBs with a time duration of 1 to 3 OFDM symbols. A CORESET mayadditionally or alternatively include N_(RB) ^(CORESET) RBs in thefrequency domain and N_(symb) ^(CORESET)∈{1,2,3} symbols in the timedomain. A CORESET includes six REGs numbered in increasing order in atime-first manner, wherein an REG equals one RB during one OFDM symbol.The UEs 101 can be configured with multiple CORESETS where each CORESETis associated with one CCE-to-REG mapping only. Interleaved andnon-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping are supported in a CORESET. Each REGcarrying a PDCCH carries its own DMRS.

According to various embodiments, the UEs 101 and the RAN nodes 111communicate data (for example, transmit and receive) data over alicensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/or the“licensed band”) and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to asthe “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”). The licensedspectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range ofapproximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensedspectrum may include the 5 GHz band.

To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UEs 101 and the RAN nodes 111may operate using LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms. In theseimplementations, the UEs 101 and the RAN nodes 111 may perform one ormore known medium-sensing operations and/or carrier-sensing operationsin order to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensedspectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting inthe unlicensed spectrum. The medium/carrier sensing operations may beperformed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (for example, UEs 101 RAN nodes111, etc.) senses a medium (for example, a channel or carrier frequency)and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specificchannel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensingoperation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine thepresence or absence of other signals on a channel in order to determineif a channel is occupied or clear. This LBT mechanism allowscellular/LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in theunlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensingRF energy across an intended transmission band for a period of time andcomparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

Typically, the incumbent systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based onIEEE 802.11 technologies. WLAN employs a contention-based channel accessmechanism, called CSMA/CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobilestation (MS) such as UE 101, AP 106, or the like) intends to transmit,the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. Additionally, abackoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions in situations where morethan one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the sametime. The backoff mechanism may be a counter that is drawn randomlywithin the CWS, which is increased exponentially upon the occurrence ofcollision and reset to a minimum value when the transmission succeeds.The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA/CA ofWLAN. In some implementations, the LBT procedure for DL or ULtransmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions,respectively, may have an LAA contention window that is variable inlength between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are minimum and maximumvalues for the CWSs for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAAtransmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWSand a MCOT (for example, a transmission burst) may be based ongovernmental regulatory requirements.

The LAA mechanisms are built upon CA technologies of LTE-Advancedsystems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is referred to as a CC. A CC mayhave a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz and a maximum of fiveCCs can be aggregated, and therefore, a maximum aggregated bandwidth is100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can bedifferent for DL and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lowerthan the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCscan have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In TDD systems, thenumber of CCs as well as the BWs of each CC is usually the same for DLand UL.

CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs.The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCson different frequency bands will experience different pathloss. Aprimary service cell or PCell may provide a PCC for both UL and DL, andmay handle RRC and NAS related activities. The other serving cells arereferred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual SCC forboth UL and DL. The SCCs may be added and removed as required, whilechanging the PCC may require the UE 101 to undergo a handover. In LAA,eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in the unlicensedspectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCells are assistedby a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configuredwith more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on theconfigured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positionswithin a same subframe.

The RAN nodes 111 may be configured to communicate with one another viainterface 112. In embodiments where the system 100 is an LTE system(e.g., when CN 120 is an EPC 220 as in FIG. 2), the interface 112 may bean X2 interface 112. The X2 interface may be defined between two or moreRAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more eNBs and the like) that connect to EPC120, and/or between two eNBs connecting to EPC 120. In someimplementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface(X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provideflow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2interface, and may be used to communicate information about the deliveryof user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specificsequence number information for user data transferred from a MeNB to anSeNB; information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs toa UE 101 from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that werenot delivered to a UE 101; information about a current minimum desiredbuffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and thelike. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functionality,including context transfers from source to target eNBs, user planetransport control, etc.; load management functionality; as well asinter-cell interference coordination functionality. In embodiments wherethe system 100 is an MF system (e.g., when CN 120 is an NHCN 120), theinterface 112 may be an X2 interface 112. The X2 interface may bedefined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more MF-APs andthe like) that connect to NHCN 120, and/or between two MF-APs connectingto NHCN 120. In these embodiments, the X2 interface may operate in asame or similar manner as discussed previously.

In embodiments where the system 100 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN120 is an 5GC 320 as in FIG. 3), the interface 112 may be an Xninterface 112. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes111 (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to 5GC 120,between a RAN node 111 (e.g., a gNB) connecting to 5GC 120 and an eNB,and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC 120. In some implementations,the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xncontrol plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteeddelivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flowcontrol functionality. The Xn-C may provide management and errorhandling functionality, functionality to manage the Xn-C interface;mobility support for UE 101 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED)including functionality to manage the UE mobility for connected modebetween one or more RAN nodes 111. The mobility support may includecontext transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node 111 to new(target) serving RAN node 111; and control of user plane tunnels betweenold (source) serving RAN node 111 to new (target) serving RAN node 111.A protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer builton Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of aUDP and/or IP layer(s) to carry user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stackmay include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as XnApplication Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer that isbuilt on SCTP. The SCTP may be on top of an IP layer, and may providethe guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transportIP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver the signalingPDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-Cprotocol stack may be same or similar to the user plane and/or controlplane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein.

The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network—inthis embodiment, CN 120. The CN 120 may comprise a plurality of networkelements 122, which are configured to offer various data andtelecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UEs101) who are connected to the CN 120 via the RAN 110. The components ofthe CN 120 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physicalnodes including components to read and execute instructions from amachine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may beutilized to virtualize any or all of the above-described network nodefunctions via executable instructions stored in one or morecomputer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). Alogical instantiation of the CN 120 may be referred to as a networkslice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 120 may bereferred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architectures andinfrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions,alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resourcescomprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storagehardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used toexecute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPCcomponents/functions.

Generally, the application server 130 may be an element offeringapplications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g.,UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 130can also be configured to support one or more communication services(e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, socialnetworking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 via the EPC 120.

In embodiments, the CN 120 may be a 5GC (referred to as “5GC 120” or thelike), and the RAN 110 may be connected with the CN 120 via an NGinterface 113. In embodiments, the NG interface 113 may be split intotwo parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 114, which carries trafficdata between the RAN nodes 111 and a UPF (e.g., the N3 and/or N9reference points), and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 115, whichis a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and AMFs 120 (e.g.,the N2 reference point). Embodiments where the CN 120 is a 5GC 120 arediscussed in more detail with regard to FIG. 3.

In embodiments, the CN 120 may be a 5G CN (referred to as “5GC 120” orthe like), while in other embodiments, the CN 120 may be an EPC). WhereCN 120 is an EPC (referred to as “EPC 120” or the like), the RAN 110 maybe connected with the CN 120 via an S1 interface 113. In embodiments,the S1 interface 113 may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane(S1-U) interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes111 and the S-GW, and the S1-MME interface 115, which is a signalinginterface between the RAN nodes 111 and MMEs.

In embodiments where the CN 120 is an MF NHCN 120, the one or morenetwork elements 122 may include or operate one or more NH-MMEs, localAAA proxies, NH-GWs, and/or other like MF NHCN elements. The NH-MMEprovides similar functionality as an MME in EPC 120. A local AAA proxyis an AAA proxy that is part of an NHN that provides AAA functionalitiesrequired for interworking with PSP AAA and 3GPP AAAs. A PSP AAA is anAAA server (or pool of servers) using non-USIM credentials that isassociated with a PSP, and may be either internal or external to theNHN, and the 3GPP AAA is discussed in more detail in 3GPP TS 23.402. TheNH-GW provides similar functionality as a combined S-GW/P-GW for non-EPCrouted PDN connections. For EPC Routed PDN connections, the NHN-GWprovides similar functionality as the S-GW discussed previously ininteractions with the MF-APs over the S1 interface 113 and is similar tothe TWAG in interactions with the PLMN PDN-GWs over the S2a interface.In some embodiments, the MF APs 111 may connect with the EPC 120discussed previously. Additionally, the RAN 110 (referred to as an “MFRAN 110” or the like) may be connected with the NHCN 120 via an S1interface 113. In these embodiments, the S1 interface 113 may be splitinto two parts, the S1-U interface 114 that carries traffic data betweenthe RAN nodes 111 (e.g., the “MF-APs 111”) and the NH-GW, and theS1-MME-N interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RANnodes 111 and NH-MMEs. The S1-U interface 114 and the S1-MME-N interface115 have the same or similar functionality as the S1-U interface 114 andthe S1-MME interface 115 of the EPC 120 discussed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of a system 200 including afirst CN 220, in accordance with various embodiments. In this example,system 200 may implement the LTE standard wherein the CN 220 is an EPC220 that corresponds with CN 120 of FIG. 1. Additionally, the UE 201 maybe the same or similar as the UEs 101 of FIG. 1, and the E-UTRAN 210 maybe a RAN that is the same or similar to the RAN 110 of FIG. 1, and whichmay include RAN nodes 111 discussed previously. The CN 220 may compriseMMEs 221, an S-GW 222, a P-GW 223, a HSS 224, and a SGSN 225.

The MMEs 221 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacySGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the currentlocation of a UE 201. The MMEs 221 may perform various MM procedures tomanage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and trackingarea list management. MM (also referred to as “EPS MM” or “EMM” inE-UTRAN systems) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, datastorage, etc. that are used to maintain knowledge about a presentlocation of the UE 201, provide user identity confidentiality, and/orperform other like services to users/subscribers. Each UE 201 and theMME 221 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and an MM context may beestablished in the UE 201 and the MME 221 when an attach procedure issuccessfully completed. The MM context may be a data structure ordatabase object that stores MM-related information of the UE 201. TheMMEs 221 may be coupled with the HSS 224 via an S6a reference point,coupled with the SGSN 225 via an S3 reference point, and coupled withthe S-GW 222 via an S11 reference point.

The SGSN 225 may be a node that serves the UE 201 by tracking thelocation of an individual UE 201 and performing security functions. Inaddition, the SGSN 225 may perform Inter-EPC node signaling for mobilitybetween 2G/3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selectionas specified by the MMEs 221; handling of UE 201 time zone functions asspecified by the MMEs 221; and MME selection for handovers to E-UTRAN3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between the MMEs 221 and theSGSN 225 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPPaccess network mobility in idle and/or active states.

The HSS 224 may comprise a database for network users, includingsubscription-related information to support the network entities'handling of communication sessions. The EPC 220 may comprise one orseveral HSSs 224, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on thecapacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. Forexample, the HSS 224 can provide support for routing/roaming,authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, locationdependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 224 and theMMEs 221 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data forauthenticating/authorizing user access to the EPC 220 between HSS 224and the MMEs 221.

The S-GW 222 may terminate the S1 interface 113 (“S1-U” in FIG. 2)toward the RAN 210, and routes data packets between the RAN 210 and theEPC 220. In addition, the S-GW 222 may be a local mobility anchor pointfor inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor forinter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawfulintercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The S11 referencepoint between the S-GW 222 and the MMEs 221 may provide a control planebetween the MMEs 221 and the S-GW 222. The S-GW 222 may be coupled withthe P-GW 223 via an S5 reference point.

The P-GW 223 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN 230. The P-GW223 may route data packets between the EPC 220 and external networkssuch as a network including the application server 130 (alternativelyreferred to as an “AF”) via an IP interface 125 (see e.g., FIG. 1). Inembodiments, the P-GW 223 may be communicatively coupled to anapplication server (application server 130 of FIG. 1 or PDN 230 in FIG.2) via an IP communications interface 125 (see, e.g., FIG. 1). The S5reference point between the P-GW 223 and the S-GW 222 may provide userplane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 223 and the S-GW222. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 222 relocation dueto UE 201 mobility and if the S-GW 222 needs to connect to anon-collocated P-GW 223 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 223may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging datacollection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). Additionally, the SGi referencepoint between the P-GW 223 and the packet data network (PDN) 230 may bean operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra operator packetdata network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The P-GW 223may be coupled with a PCRF 226 via a Gx reference point.

PCRF 226 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC 220. In anon-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 226 in the Home PublicLand Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE 201's Internet ProtocolConnectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario withlocal breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE201's IP-CAN session, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a VisitedPCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). ThePCRF 226 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 230via the P-GW 223. The application server 230 may signal the PCRF 226 toindicate a new service flow and select the appropriate QoS and chargingparameters. The PCRF 226 may provision this rule into a PCEF (not shown)with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which commences the QoS and chargingas specified by the application server 230. The Gx reference pointbetween the PCRF 226 and the P-GW 223 may allow for the transfer of QoSpolicy and charging rules from the PCRF 226 to PCEF in the P-GW 223. AnRx reference point may reside between the PDN 230 (or “AF 230”) and thePCRF 226.

FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture of a system 300 including a second CN320 in accordance with various embodiments. The system 300 is shown toinclude a UE 301, which may be the same or similar to the UEs 101 and UE201 discussed previously; a (R)AN 310, which may be the same or similarto the RAN 110 and RAN 210 discussed previously, and which may includeRAN nodes 111 discussed previously; and a DN 303, which may be, forexample, operator services, Internet access or 3rd party services; and a5GC 320. The 5GC 320 may include an AUSF 322; an AMF 321; a SMF 324; aNEF 323; a PCF 326; a NRF 325; a UDM 327; an AF 328; a UPF 302; and aNSSF 329.

The UPF 302 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RATmobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to DN 303, and abranching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF 302 may alsoperform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection,enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets(UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handlingfor a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rateenforcement), perform Uplink Traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flowmapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, andperform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notificationtriggering. UPF 302 may include an uplink classifier to support routingtraffic flows to a data network. The DN 303 may represent variousnetwork operator services, Internet access, or third party services. DN303 may include, or be similar to, application server 130 discussedpreviously. The UPF 302 may interact with the SMF 324 via an N4reference point between the SMF 324 and the UPF 302.

The AUSF 322 may store data for authentication of UE 301 and handleauthentication-related functionality. The AUSF 322 may facilitate acommon authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 322may communicate with the AMF 321 via an N12 reference point between theAMF 321 and the AUSF 322; and may communicate with the UDM 327 via anN13 reference point between the UDM 327 and the AUSF 322. Additionally,the AUSF 322 may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface.

The AMF 321 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., forregistering UE 301, etc.), connection management, reachabilitymanagement, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-relatedevents, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 321 may bea termination point for the N11 reference point between the AMF 321 andthe SMF 324. The AMF 321 may provide transport for SM messages betweenthe UE 301 and the SMF 324, and act as a transparent proxy for routingSM messages. AMF 321 may also provide transport for SMS messages betweenUE 301 and an SMSF (not shown by FIG. 3). AMF 321 may act as SEAF, whichmay include interaction with the AUSF 322 and the UE 301, receipt of anintermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 301authentication process. Where USIM based authentication is used, the AMF321 may retrieve the security material from the AUSF 322. AMF 321 mayalso include a SCM function, which receives a key from the SEA that ituses to derive access-network specific keys. Furthermore, AMF 321 may bea termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2reference point between the (R)AN 310 and the AMF 321; and the AMF 321may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NASciphering and integrity protection.

AMF 321 may also support NAS signaling with a UE 301 over an N3 IWFinterface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrustedentities. N3IWF may be a termination point for the N2 interface betweenthe (R)AN 310 and the AMF 321 for the control plane, and may be atermination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 310 andthe UPF 302 for the user plane. As such, the AMF 321 may handle N2signaling from the SMF 324 and the AMF 321 for PDU sessions and QoS,encapsulate/de-encapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunneling, mark N3user-plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS corresponding to N3packet marking taking into account QoS requirements associated with suchmarking received over N2. N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlinkcontrol-plane NAS signaling between the UE 301 and AMF 321 via an N1reference point between the UE 301 and the AMF 321, and relay uplink anddownlink user-plane packets between the UE 301 and UPF 302. The N3IWFalso provides mechanisms for IPsec tunnel establishment with the UE 301.The AMF 321 may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be atermination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 321 and anN17 reference point between the AMF 321 and a 5G-EIR (not shown by FIG.3).

The UE 301 may need to register with the AMF 321 in order to receivenetwork services. RM is used to register or deregister the UE 301 withthe network (e.g., AMF 321), and establish a UE context in the network(e.g., AMF 321). The UE 301 may operate in an RM-REGISTERED state or anRM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, the UE 301 is notregistered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 321 holds novalid location or routing information for the UE 301 so the UE 301 isnot reachable by the AMF 321. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 301 isregistered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 321 may hold avalid location or routing information for the UE 301 so the UE 301 isreachable by the AMF 321. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 301 mayperform mobility Registration Update procedures, perform periodicRegistration Update procedures triggered by expiration of the periodicupdate timer (e.g., to notify the network that the UE 301 is stillactive), and perform a Registration Update procedure to update UEcapability information or to re-negotiate protocol parameters with thenetwork, among others.

The AMF 321 may store one or more RM contexts for the UE 301, where eachRM context is associated with a specific access to the network. The RMcontext may be a data structure, database object, etc. that indicates orstores, inter alia, a registration state per access type and theperiodic update timer. The AMF 321 may also store a 5GC MM context thatmay be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. Invarious embodiments, the AMF 321 may store a CE mode B Restrictionparameter of the UE 301 in an associated MM context or RM context. TheAMF 321 may also derive the value, when needed, from the UE's usagesetting parameter already stored in the UE context (and/or MM/RMcontext).

CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection betweenthe UE 301 and the AMF 321 over the N1 interface. The signalingconnection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 301and the CN 320, and comprises both the signaling connection between theUE and the AN (e.g., RRC connection or UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPPaccess) and the N2 connection for the UE 301 between the AN (e.g., RAN310) and the AMF 321. The UE 301 may operate in one of two CM states,CM-IDLE mode, or CM-CONNECTED mode. When the UE 301 is operating in theCM-IDLE state/mode, the UE 301 may have no NAS signaling connectionestablished with the AMF 321 over the N1 interface, and there may be(R)AN 310 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for theUE 301. When the UE 301 is operating in the CM-CONNECTED state/mode, theUE 301 may have an established NAS signaling connection with the AMF 321over the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 310 signaling connection(e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for the UE 301. Establishment of an N2connection between the (R)AN 310 and the AMF 321 may cause the UE 301 totransition from CM-IDLE mode to CM-CONNECTED mode, and the UE 301 maytransition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode when N2signaling between the (R)AN 310 and the AMF 321 is released.

The SMF 324 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment,modify and release, including tunnel maintain between UPF and AN node);UE IP address allocation and management (including optionalauthorization); selection and control of UP function; configuringtraffic steering at UPF to route traffic to proper destination;termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controllingpart of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events andinterface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages;downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sentvia AMF over N2 to AN; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM mayrefer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” mayrefer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables theexchange of PDUs between a UE 301 and a data network (DN) 303 identifiedby a Data Network Name (DNN). PDU sessions may be established upon UE301 request, modified upon UE 301 and 5GC 320 request, and released uponUE 301 and 5GC 320 request using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1reference point between the UE 301 and the SMF 324. Upon request from anapplication server, the 5GC 320 may trigger a specific application inthe UE 301. In response to receipt of the trigger message, the UE 301may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts/information of thetrigger message) to one or more identified applications in the UE 301.The identified application(s) in the UE 301 may establish a PDU sessionto a specific DNN. The SMF 324 may check whether the UE 301 requests arecompliant with user subscription information associated with the UE 301.In this regard, the SMF 324 may retrieve and/or request to receiveupdate notifications on SMF 324 level subscription data from the UDM327.

The SMF 324 may include the following roaming functionality: handlinglocal enforcement to apply QoS SLAB (VPLMN); charging data collectionand charging interface (VPLMN); lawful intercept (in VPLMN for SM eventsand interface to LI system); and support for interaction with externalDN for transport of signaling for PDU sessionauthorization/authentication by external DN. An N16 reference pointbetween two SMFs 324 may be included in the system 300, which may bebetween another SMF 324 in a visited network and the SMF 324 in the homenetwork in roaming scenarios. Additionally, the SMF 324 may exhibit theNsmf service-based interface.

The NEF 323 may provide means for securely exposing the services andcapabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party,internal exposure/re-exposure, Application Functions (e.g., AF 328),edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, theNEF 323 may authenticate, authorize, and/or throttle the AFs. NEF 323may also translate information exchanged with the AF 328 and informationexchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 323 maytranslate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GCinformation. NEF 323 may also receive information from other networkfunctions (NFs) based on exposed capabilities of other networkfunctions. This information may be stored at the NEF 323 as structureddata, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The storedinformation can then be re-exposed by the NEF 323 to other NFs and AFs,and/or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF323 may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface.

The NRF 325 may support service discovery functions, receive NFdiscovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of thediscovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 325 also maintainsinformation of available NF instances and their supported services. Asused herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like mayrefer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to aconcrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, duringexecution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 325 may exhibit theNnrf service-based interface.

The PCF 326 may provide policy rules to control plane function(s) toenforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to governnetwork behaviour. The PCF 326 may also implement an FE to accesssubscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of theUDM 327. The PCF 326 may communicate with the AMF 321 via an N15reference point between the PCF 326 and the AMF 321, which may include aPCF 326 in a visited network and the AMF 321 in case of roamingscenarios. The PCF 326 may communicate with the AF 328 via an N5reference point between the PCF 326 and the AF 328; and with the SMF 324via an N7 reference point between the PCF 326 and the SMF 324. Thesystem 300 and/or CN 320 may also include an N24 reference point betweenthe PCF 326 (in the home network) and a PCF 326 in a visited network.Additionally, the PCF 326 may exhibit an Npcf service-based interface.

The UDM 327 may handle subscription-related information to support thenetwork entities' handling of communication sessions, and may storesubscription data of UE 301. For example, subscription data may becommunicated between the UDM 327 and the AMF 321 via an N8 referencepoint between the UDM 327 and the AMF. The UDM 327 may include twoparts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG.3). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 327and the PCF 326, and/or structured data for exposure and applicationdata (including PFDs for application detection, application requestinformation for multiple UEs 301) for the NEF 323. The Nudrservice-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR 321 to allow the UDM327, PCF 326, and NEF 323 to access a particular set of the stored data,as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe tonotification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include aUDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, locationmanagement, subscription management and so on. Several different frontends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FEaccesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performsauthentication credential processing, user identification handling,access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscriptionmanagement. The UDR may interact with the SMF 324 via an N10 referencepoint between the UDM 327 and the SMF 324. UDM 327 may also support SMSmanagement, wherein an SMS-FE implements the similar application logicas discussed previously. Additionally, the UDM 327 may exhibit the Nudmservice-based interface.

The AF 328 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provideaccess to the NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policycontrol. The NCE may be a mechanism that allows the 5GC 320 and AF 328to provide information to each other via NEF 323, which may be used foredge computing implementations. In such implementations, the networkoperator and third party services may be hosted close to the UE 301access point of attachment to achieve an efficient service deliverythrough the reduced end-to-end latency and load on the transportnetwork. For edge computing implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF302 close to the UE 301 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 302 toDN 303 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscriptiondata, UE location, and information provided by the AF 328. In this way,the AF 328 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based onoperator deployment, when AF 328 is considered to be a trusted entity,the network operator may permit AF 328 to interact directly withrelevant NFs. Additionally, the AF 328 may exhibit an Naf service-basedinterface.

The NSSF 329 may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE301. The NSSF 329 may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping tothe subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF 329 may also determine theAMF set to be used to serve the UE 301, or a list of candidate AMF(s)321 based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF325. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 301may be triggered by the AMF 321 with which the UE 301 is registered byinteracting with the NSSF 329, which may lead to a change of AMF 321.The NSSF 329 may interact with the AMF 321 via an N22 reference pointbetween AMF 321 and NSSF 329; and may communicate with another NSSF 329in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown by FIG. 3).Additionally, the NSSF 329 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.

As discussed previously, the CN 320 may include an SMSF, which may beresponsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relayingSM messages to/from the UE 301 to/from other entities, such as anSMS-GMSC/IWMSC/SMS-router. The SMS may also interact with AMF 321 andUDM 327 for a notification procedure that the UE 301 is available forSMS transfer (e.g., set a UE not reachable flag, and notifying UDM 327when UE 301 is available for SMS).

The CN 120 may also include other elements that are not shown by FIG. 3,such as a Data Storage system/architecture, a 5G-EIR, a SEPP, and thelike. The Data Storage system may include a SDSF, an UDSF, and/or thelike. Any NF may store and retrieve unstructured data into/from the UDSF(e.g., UE contexts), via N18 reference point between any NF and the UDSF(not shown by FIG. 3). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing theirrespective unstructured data or individual NFs may each have their ownUDSF located at or near the individual NFs. Additionally, the UDSF mayexhibit an Nudsf service-based interface (not shown by FIG. 3). The5G-EIR may be an NF that checks the status of PEI for determiningwhether particular equipment/entities are blacklisted from the network;and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topologyhiding, message filtering, and policing on inter-PLMN control planeinterfaces.

Additionally, there may be many more reference points and/orservice-based interfaces between the NF services in the NFs; however,these interfaces and reference points have been omitted from FIG. 3 forclarity. In one example, the CN 320 may include an Nx interface, whichis an inter-CN interface between the MME (e.g., MME 221) and the AMF 321in order to enable interworking between CN 320 and CN 220. Other exampleinterfaces/reference points may include an N5g-EIR service-basedinterface exhibited by a 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between the NRFin the visited network and the NRF in the home network; and an N31reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF inthe home network.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment 400 inaccordance with various embodiments. The infrastructure equipment 400(or “system 400”) may be implemented as a base station, radio head, RANnode such as the RAN nodes 111 and/or AP 106 shown and describedpreviously, application server(s) 130, and/or any other element/devicediscussed herein. In other examples, the system 400 could be implementedin or by a UE.

The system 400 includes application circuitry 405, baseband circuitry410, one or more radio front end modules (RFEMs) 415, memory circuitry420, power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 425, power teecircuitry 430, network controller circuitry 435, network interfaceconnector 440, satellite positioning circuitry 445, and user interface450. In some embodiments, the device 400 may include additional elementssuch as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, orinput/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the componentsdescribed below may be included in more than one device. For example,said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device forCRAN, vBBU, or other like implementations.

Application circuitry 405 includes circuitry such as, but not limited toone or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one ormore of low drop-out voltage regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers,serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serialinterface module, real time clock (RTC), timer-counters includinginterval and watchdog timers, general purpose input/output (I/O or IO),memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) MultiMediaCard (MMC)or similar, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile IndustryProcessor Interface (MIPI) interfaces and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG)test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the applicationcircuitry 405 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elementsand may be configured to execute instructions stored in thememory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems torun on the system 400. In some implementations, the memory/storageelements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitablevolatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM,Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory devicetechnology, such as those discussed herein.

The processor(s) of application circuitry 405 may include, for example,one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors,one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISCMachine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing(CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSP), one ormore FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or moremicroprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the application circuitry 405 may comprise, or may be,a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to thevarious embodiments herein. As examples, the processor(s) of applicationcircuitry 405 may include one or more Intel Pentium®, Core®, or Xeon®processor(s); Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s),Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), or Epyc® processors; ARM-basedprocessor(s) licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd. such as the ARM Cortex-Afamily of processors and the ThunderX2® provided by Cavium™, Inc.; aMIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such as MIPS WarriorP-class processors; and/or the like. In some embodiments, the system 400may not utilize application circuitry 405, and instead may include aspecial-purpose processor/controller to process IP data received from anEPC or 5GC, for example.

In some implementations, the application circuitry 405 may include oneor more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors,programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardwareaccelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deeplearning (DL) accelerators. As examples, the programmable processingdevices may be one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such asfield-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and the like; programmable logicdevices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs(HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like;programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, thecircuitry of application circuitry 405 may comprise logic blocks orlogic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmedto perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods,functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In suchembodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 405 may includememory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM),anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc.in look-up-tables (LUTs) and the like.

The baseband circuitry 410 may be implemented, for example, as asolder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or amulti-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Thevarious hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry 410 arediscussed infra with regard to FIG. 6.

User interface circuitry 450 may include one or more user interfacesdesigned to enable user interaction with the system 400 or peripheralcomponent interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interactionwith the system 400. User interfaces may include, but are not limitedto, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), oneor more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physicalkeyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, speakers orother audio emitting devices, microphones, a printer, a scanner, aheadset, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral componentinterfaces may include, but are not limited to, a nonvolatile memoryport, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supplyinterface, etc.

The radio front end modules (RFEMs) 415 may comprise a millimeter wave(mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integratedcircuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWaveRFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs mayinclude connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g.,antenna array 6111 of FIG. 6 infra), and the RFEM may be connected tomultiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave andsub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFEM415, which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave.

The memory circuitry 420 may include one or more of volatile memoryincluding dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamicrandom access memory (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) includinghigh-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flashmemory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistiverandom access memory (MRAM), etc., and may incorporate thethree-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® andMicron®. Memory circuitry 420 may be implemented as one or more ofsolder down packaged integrated circuits, socketed memory modules andplug-in memory cards.

The PMIC 425 may include voltage regulators, surge protectors, poweralarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources such asa battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuitry may detectone or more of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage)conditions. The power tee circuitry 430 may provide for electrical powerdrawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and dataconnectivity to the infrastructure equipment 400 using a single cable.

The network controller circuitry 435 may provide connectivity to anetwork using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet,Ethernet over GRE Tunnels, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching(MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may beprovided to/from the infrastructure equipment 400 via network interfaceconnector 440 using a physical connection, which may be electrical(commonly referred to as a “copper interconnect”), optical, or wireless.The network controller circuitry 435 may include one or more dedicatedprocessors and/or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of theaforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the networkcontroller circuitry 435 may include multiple controllers to provideconnectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

The positioning circuitry 445 includes circuitry to receive and decodesignals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satelliteconstellations (or GNSS) include United States' Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the EuropeanUnion's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, aregional navigation system or GNSS augmentation system (e.g., Navigationwith Indian Constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System(QZSS), France's Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integratedby Satellite (DORIS), etc.), or the like. The positioning circuitry 445comprises various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devicessuch as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like tofacilitate OTA communications) to communicate with components of apositioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes.In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry 445 may include aMicro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (Micro-PNT) ICthat uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking/estimationwithout GNSS assistance. The positioning circuitry 445 may also be partof, or interact with, the baseband circuitry 410 and/or RFEMs 415 tocommunicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network.The positioning circuitry 445 may also provide position data and/or timedata to the application circuitry 405, which may use the data tosynchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN nodes 111,etc.), or the like.

The components shown by FIG. 4 may communicate with one another usinginterface circuitry, which may include any number of bus and/orinterconnect (IX) technologies such as industry standard architecture(ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI),peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe),or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietarybus, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems maybe included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point to pointinterfaces, and a power bus, among others.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a platform 500 (or “device 500”) inaccordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the computerplatform 500 may be suitable for use as UEs 101, 201, 301, applicationservers 130, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. Theplatform 500 may include any combinations of the components shown in theexample. The components of platform 500 may be implemented as integratedcircuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or othermodules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereofadapted in the computer platform 500, or as components otherwiseincorporated within a chassis of a larger system. The block diagram ofFIG. 5 is intended to show a high level view of components of thecomputer platform 500. However, some of the components shown may beomitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangementof the components shown may occur in other implementations.

Application circuitry 505 includes circuitry such as, but not limited toone or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one ormore of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2Cor universal programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-countersincluding interval and watchdog timers, general purpose I/O, memory cardcontrollers such as SD MMC or similar, USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces,and JTAG test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the applicationcircuitry 505 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elementsand may be configured to execute instructions stored in thememory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems torun on the system 500. In some implementations, the memory/storageelements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitablevolatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM,Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory devicetechnology, such as those discussed herein.

The processor(s) of application circuitry 405 may include, for example,one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one ormore GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, oneor more CISC processors, one or more DSP, one or more FPGAs, one or morePLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, amultithreaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embeddedprocessor, some other known processing element, or any suitablecombination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry 405may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller tooperate according to the various embodiments herein.

As examples, the processor(s) of application circuitry 505 may includean Intel® Architecture Core™ based processor, such as a Quark™, anAtom™, an i3, an i5, an i7, or an MCU-class processor, or another suchprocessor available from Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. Theprocessors of the application circuitry 505 may also be one or more ofAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s) or AcceleratedProcessing Units (APUs); A5-A9 processor(s) from Apple® Inc.,Snapdragon™ processor(s) from Qualcomm® Technologies, Inc., TexasInstruments, Inc.® Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP)™processor(s); a MIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such asMIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors;an ARM-based design licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARMCortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M family of processors; or the like. Insome implementations, the application circuitry 505 may be a part of asystem on a chip (SoC) in which the application circuitry 505 and othercomponents are formed into a single integrated circuit, or a singlepackage, such as the Edison™ or Galileo™ SoC boards from Intel®Corporation.

Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry 505 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more a field-programmabledevices (FPDs) such as FPGAs and the like; programmable logic devices(PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), andthe like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs(PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of applicationcircuitry 505 may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and otherinterconnected resources that may be programmed to perform variousfunctions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of thevarious embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitryof application circuitry 505 may include memory cells (e.g., erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory(e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used tostore logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs)and the like.

The baseband circuitry 510 may be implemented, for example, as asolder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or amulti-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Thevarious hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry 510 arediscussed infra with regard to FIG. 6.

The RFEMs 515 may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one ormore sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In someimplementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physicallyseparated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to oneor more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g., antenna array 6111 of FIG.6 infra), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. Inalternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functionsmay be implemented in the same physical RFEM 515, which incorporatesboth mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave.

The memory circuitry 520 may include any number and type of memorydevices used to provide for a given amount of system memory. Asexamples, the memory circuitry 520 may include one or more of volatilememory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and/orsynchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) includinghigh-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flashmemory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistiverandom access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry 520 may bedeveloped in accordance with a Joint Electron Devices EngineeringCouncil (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such asLPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, or the like. Memory circuitry 520 may beimplemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits,single die package (SDP), dual die package (DDP) or quad die package(Q17P), socketed memory modules, dual inline memory modules (DIMMs)including microDIMMs or MiniDIMMs, and/or soldered onto a motherboardvia a ball grid array (BGA). In low power implementations, the memorycircuitry 520 may be on-die memory or registers associated with theapplication circuitry 505. To provide for persistent storage ofinformation such as data, applications, operating systems and so forth,memory circuitry 520 may include one or more mass storage devices, whichmay include, inter alia, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), hard diskdrive (HDD), a micro HDD, resistance change memories, phase changememories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, among others. Forexample, the computer platform 500 may incorporate the three-dimensional(3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®.

Removable memory circuitry 523 may include devices, circuitry,enclosures/housings, ports, or receptacles, etc. used to couple portabledata storage devices with the platform 500. These portable data storagedevices may be used for mass storage purposes, and may include, forexample, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSDcards, xD picture cards, and the like), and USB flash drives, opticaldiscs, external HDDs, and the like.

The platform 500 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) thatis used to connect external devices with the platform 500. The externaldevices connected to the platform 500 via the interface circuitryinclude sensor circuitry 521 and electro-mechanical components (EMCs)522, as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memorycircuitry 523.

The sensor circuitry 521 include devices, modules, or subsystems whosepurpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send theinformation (sensor data) about the detected events to some other adevice, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, interalia, inertia measurement units (IMUS) comprising accelerometers,gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) comprising 3-axisaccelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; level sensors;flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors;barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capturedevices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection andranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiationdetector and the like), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonictransceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc.

EMCs 522 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is toenable platform 500 to change its state, position, and/or orientation,or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMCs 522may be configured to generate and send messages/signaling to othercomponents of the platform 500 to indicate a current state of the EMCs522. Examples of the EMCs 522 include one or more power switches, relaysincluding electromechanical relays (EMRs) and/or solid state relays(SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), an audible soundgenerator, a visual warning device, motors (e.g., DC motors, steppermotors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks,and/or other like electro-mechanical components. In embodiments,platform 500 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 522 based on oneor more captured events and/or instructions or control signals receivedfrom a service provider and/or various clients.

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect theplatform 500 with positioning circuitry 545. The positioning circuitry545 includes circuitry to receive and decode signalstransmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples ofnavigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include United States'GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China'sBeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a regional navigation system or GNSSaugmentation system (e.g., NAVIC), Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.),or the like. The positioning circuitry 545 comprises various hardwareelements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters,amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like to facilitate OTAcommunications) to communicate with components of a positioning network,such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments,the positioning circuitry 545 may include a Micro-PNT IC that uses amaster timing clock to perform position tracking/estimation without GNSSassistance. The positioning circuitry 545 may also be part of, orinteract with, the baseband circuitry 410 and/or RFEMs 515 tocommunicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network.The positioning circuitry 545 may also provide position data and/or timedata to the application circuitry 505, which may use the data tosynchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio basestations), for turn-by-turn navigation applications, or the like

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect theplatform 500 with Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry 540. NFCcircuitry 540 is configured to provide contactless, short-rangecommunications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards,wherein magnetic field induction is used to enable communication betweenNFC circuitry 540 and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform 500(e.g., an “NFC touchpoint”). NFC circuitry 540 comprises an NFCcontroller coupled with an antenna element and a processor coupled withthe NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip/IC providing NFCfunctionalities to the NFC circuitry 540 by executing NFC controllerfirmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by theprocessor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmwaremay be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element toemit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power a passive NFC tag(e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmitstored data to the NFC circuitry 540, or initiate data transfer betweenthe NFC circuitry 540 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphoneor an NFC-enabled POS terminal) that is proximate to the platform 500.

The driver circuitry 546 may include software and hardware elements thatoperate to control particular devices that are embedded in the platform500, attached to the platform 500, or otherwise communicatively coupledwith the platform 500. The driver circuitry 546 may include individualdrivers allowing other components of the platform 500 to interact withor control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be presentwithin, or connected to, the platform 500. For example, driver circuitry546 may include a display driver to control and allow access to adisplay device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to atouchscreen interface of the platform 500, sensor drivers to obtainsensor readings of sensor circuitry 521 and control and allow access tosensor circuitry 521, EMC drivers to obtain actuator positions of theEMCs 522 and/or control and allow access to the EMCs 522, a cameradriver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device,audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices.

The power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 525 (also referred toas “power management circuitry 525”) may manage power provided tovarious components of the platform 500. In particular, with respect tothe baseband circuitry 510, the PMIC 525 may control power-sourceselection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion.The PMIC 525 may often be included when the platform 500 is capable ofbeing powered by a battery 530, for example, when the device is includedin a UE 101, 201, 301.

In some embodiments, the PMIC 525 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the platform 500. For example, if theplatform 500 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connectedto the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it mayenter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a periodof inactivity. During this state, the platform 500 may power down forbrief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data trafficactivity for an extended period of time, then the platform 500 maytransition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from thenetwork and does not perform operations such as channel qualityfeedback, handover, etc. The platform 500 goes into a very low powerstate and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up tolisten to the network and then powers down again. The platform 500 maynot receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it musttransition back to RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving modemay allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longerthan a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). Duringthis time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and maypower down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a largedelay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

A battery 530 may power the platform 500, although in some examples theplatform 500 may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have apower supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery 530 may be alithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, analuminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In someimplementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 530 may be atypical lead-acid automotive battery.

In some implementations, the battery 530 may be a “smart battery,” whichincludes or is coupled with a Battery Management System (BMS) or batterymonitoring integrated circuitry. The BMS may be included in the platform500 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 530. The BMS maybe used to monitor other parameters of the battery 530 to providefailure predictions, such as the state of health (SoH) and the state offunction (SoF) of the battery 530. The BMS may communicate theinformation of the battery 530 to the application circuitry 505 or othercomponents of the platform 500. The BMS may also include ananalog-to-digital (ADC) convertor that allows the application circuitry505 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 530 or the currentflow from the battery 530. The battery parameters may be used todetermine actions that the platform 500 may perform, such astransmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, and thelike.

A power block, or other power supply coupled to an electrical grid maybe coupled with the BMS to charge the battery 530. In some examples, thepower block XS30 may be replaced with a wireless power receiver toobtain the power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in thecomputer platform 500. In these examples, a wireless battery chargingcircuit may be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuitschosen may depend on the size of the battery 530, and thus, the currentrequired. The charging may be performed using the Airfuel standardpromulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standardpromulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence chargingstandard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others.

User interface circuitry 550 includes various input/output (I/O) devicespresent within, or connected to, the platform 500, and includes one ormore user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with theplatform 500 and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enableperipheral component interaction with the platform 500. The userinterface circuitry 550 includes input device circuitry and outputdevice circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical orvirtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or morephysical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard,keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset,and/or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical orvirtual means for showing information or otherwise conveyinginformation, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or otherlike information. Output device circuitry may include any number and/orcombinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one ormore simple visual outputs/indicators (e.g., binary status indicators(e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs,or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g.,Liquid Chrystal Displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays,projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimediaobjects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation ofthe platform 500. The output device circuitry may also include speakersor other audio emitting devices, printer(s), and/or the like. In someembodiments, the sensor circuitry 521 may be used as the input devicecircuitry (e.g., an image capture device, motion capture device, or thelike) and one or more EMCs may be used as the output device circuitry(e.g., an actuator to provide haptic feedback or the like). In anotherexample, NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled with anantenna element and a processing device may be included to readelectronic tags and/or connect with another NFC-enabled device.Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, anon-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power supplyinterface, etc.

Although not shown, the components of platform 500 may communicate withone another using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, whichmay include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx,PCIe, a Time-Trigger Protocol (UP) system, a FlexRay system, or anynumber of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus/IX,for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may beincluded, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point-to-pointinterfaces, and a power bus, among others.

FIG. 6 illustrates example components of baseband circuitry 6110 andradio front end modules (RFEM) 6115 in accordance with variousembodiments. The baseband circuitry 6110 corresponds to the basebandcircuitry 410 and 510 of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. The RFEM 6115corresponds to the RFEM 415 and 515 of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. Asshown, the RFEMs 6115 may include Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 6106,front-end module (FEM) circuitry 6108, antenna array 6111 coupledtogether at least as shown.

The baseband circuitry 6110 includes circuitry and/or control logicconfigured to carry out various radio/network protocol and radio controlfunctions that enable communication with one or more radio networks viathe RF circuitry 6106. The radio control functions may include, but arenot limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 6110 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 6110 may include convolution, tail-bitingconvolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulationand encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples andmay include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. Thebaseband circuitry 6110 is configured to process baseband signalsreceived from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 6106 and togenerate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry6106. The baseband circuitry 6110 is configured to interface withapplication circuitry 405/505 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) for generation andprocessing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of theRF circuitry 6106. The baseband circuitry 6110 may handle various radiocontrol functions.

The aforementioned circuitry and/or control logic of the basebandcircuitry 6110 may include one or more single or multi-core processors.For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G basebandprocessor 6104A, a 4G/LTE baseband processor 6104B, a 5G/NR basebandprocessor 6104C, or some other baseband processor(s) 6104D for otherexisting generations, generations in development or to be developed inthe future (e.g., sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments,some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 6104A-D may beincluded in modules stored in the memory 6104G and executed via aCentral Processing Unit (CPU) 6104E. In other embodiments, some or allof the functionality of baseband processors 6104A-D may be provided ashardware accelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) loaded with theappropriate bit streams or logic blocks stored in respective memorycells. In various embodiments, the memory 6104G may store program codeof a real-time OS (RTOS), which when executed by the CPU 6104E (or otherbaseband processor), is to cause the CPU 6104E (or other basebandprocessor) to manage resources of the baseband circuitry 6110, scheduletasks, etc. Examples of the RTOS may include Operating System Embedded(OSE)™ provided by Enea®, Nucleus RTOS™ provided by Mentor Graphics®,Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Mentor Graphics®,ThreadX™ provided by Express Logic®, FreeRTOS, REX OS provided byQualcomm®, OKL4 provided by Open Kernel (OK) Labs®, or any othersuitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the basebandcircuitry 6110 includes one or more audio digital signal processor(s)(DSP) 6104F. The audio DSP(s) 6104F include elements forcompression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include othersuitable processing elements in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, each of the processors 6104A-6104E includerespective memory interfaces to send/receive data to/from the memory6104G. The baseband circuitry 6110 may further include one or moreinterfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, suchas an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to thebaseband circuitry 6110; an application circuitry interface tosend/receive data to/from the application circuitry 405/505 of FIGS.4-5); an RF circuitry interface to send/receive data to/from RFcircuitry 6106 of FIG. 6; a wireless hardware connectivity interface tosend/receive data to/from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g.,Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®/Bluetooth® LowEnergy components, Wi-Fi® components, and/or the like); and a powermanagement interface to send/receive power or control signals to/fromthe PMIC 525.

In alternate embodiments (which may be combined with the above describedembodiments), baseband circuitry 6110 comprises one or more digitalbaseband systems, which are coupled with one another via an interconnectsubsystem and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interfacesubsystem. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to adigital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem viaanother interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems mayinclude a bus system, point-to-point connections, network-on-chip (NOC)structures, and/or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology,such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSPcircuitry, buffer memory, program memory, speech processing acceleratorcircuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital anddigital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one ormore of amplifiers and filters, and/or other like components. In anaspect of the present disclosure, baseband circuitry 6110 may includeprotocol processing circuitry with one or more instances of controlcircuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digitalbaseband circuitry and/or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., the radiofront end modules 6115).

Although not shown by FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the basebandcircuitry 6110 includes individual processing device(s) to operate oneor more wireless communication protocols (e.g., a “multi-protocolbaseband processor” or “protocol processing circuitry”) and individualprocessing device(s) to implement PHY layer functions. In theseembodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radiocontrol functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processingcircuitry operates or implements various protocol layers/entities of oneor more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, theprotocol processing circuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and/or5G/NR protocol entities when the baseband circuitry 6110 and/or RFcircuitry 6106 are part of mmWave communication circuitry or some othersuitable cellular communication circuitry. In the first example, theprotocol processing circuitry would operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC,and NAS functions. In a second example, the protocol processingcircuitry may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols when the basebandcircuitry 6110 and/or RF circuitry 6106 are part of a Wi-Ficommunication system. In the second example, the protocol processingcircuitry would operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC)functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or morememory structures (e.g., 6104G) to store program code and data foroperating the protocol functions, as well as one or more processingcores to execute the program code and perform various operations usingthe data. The baseband circuitry 6110 may also support radiocommunications for more than one wireless protocol.

The various hardware elements of the baseband circuitry 6110 discussedherein may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrateincluding one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged ICsoldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing twoor more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuitry6110 may be suitably combined in a single chip or chipset, or disposedon a same circuit board. In another example, some or all of theconstituent components of the baseband circuitry 6110 and RF circuitry6106 may be implemented together such as, for example, a system on achip (SoC) or System-in-Package (SiP). In another example, some or allof the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 6110 may beimplemented as a separate SoC that is communicatively coupled with andRF circuitry 6106 (or multiple instances of RF circuitry 6106). In yetanother example, some or all of the constituent components of thebaseband circuitry 6110 and the application circuitry 405/505 may beimplemented together as individual SoCs mounted to a same circuit board(e.g., a “multi-chip package”).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 6110 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 6110 may supportcommunication with an E-UTRAN or other WMAN, a WLAN, a WPAN. Embodimentsin which the baseband circuitry 6110 is configured to support radiocommunications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to asmulti-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 6106 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 6106 may include switches,filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with thewireless network. RF circuitry 6106 may include a receive signal path,which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from theFEM circuitry 6108 and provide baseband signals to the basebandcircuitry 6110. RF circuitry 6106 may also include a transmit signalpath, which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signalsprovided by the baseband circuitry 6110 and provide RF output signals tothe FEM circuitry 6108 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 6106may include mixer circuitry 6106 a, amplifier circuitry 6106 b andfilter circuitry 6106 c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal pathof the RF circuitry 6106 may include filter circuitry 6106 c and mixercircuitry 6106 a. RF circuitry 6106 may also include synthesizercircuitry 6106 d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixercircuitry 6106 a of the receive signal path and the transmit signalpath. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the receivesignal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received fromthe FEM circuitry 6108 based on the synthesized frequency provided bysynthesizer circuitry 6106 d. The amplifier circuitry 6106 b may beconfigured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filtercircuitry 6106 c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter(BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-convertedsignals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals maybe provided to the baseband circuitry 6110 for further processing. Insome embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequencybaseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In someembodiments, mixer circuitry 6106 a of the receive signal path maycomprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 6106 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 6108. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 6110 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 6106 c.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, themixer circuitry 6106 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 6106 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 6106 a of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the transmitsignal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and directupconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry6106 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 6106 a of thetransmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 6106 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry6110 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 6106.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 6106 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 6106 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 6106 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 6106 a of the RFcircuitry 6106 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 6106 d may be afractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 6110 orthe application circuitry 405/505 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplication circuitry 405/505.

Synthesizer circuitry 6106 d of the RF circuitry 6106 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 6106 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 6106 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 6108 may include a receive signal path, which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antennaarray 6111, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 6106 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 6108 may also include a transmit signal path,which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 6106 for transmission by oneor more of antenna elements of antenna array 6111. In variousembodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signalpaths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 6106, solely in the FEMcircuitry 6108, or in both the RF circuitry 6106 and the FEM circuitry6108.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 6108 may include a TX/RX switchto switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry 6108 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signalpath. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 6108 may include anLNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 6106). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 6108 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 6106), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmissionby one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 6111.

The antenna array 6111 comprises one or more antenna elements, each ofwhich is configured convert electrical signals into radio waves totravel through the air and to convert received radio waves intoelectrical signals. For example, digital baseband signals provided bythe baseband circuitry 6110 is converted into analog RF signals (e.g.,modulated waveform) that will be amplified and transmitted via theantenna elements of the antenna array 6111 including one or more antennaelements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional,direction, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formedin a multitude of arranges as are known and/or discussed herein. Theantenna array 6111 may comprise microstrip antennas or printed antennasthat are fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuitboards. The antenna array 6111 may be formed in as a patch of metal foil(e.g., a patch antenna) in a variety of shapes, and may be coupled withthe RF circuitry 6106 and/or FEM circuitry 6108 using metal transmissionlines or the like.

Processors of the application circuitry 405/505 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 6110 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 6110, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 405/505 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received fromthese layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., TCP andUDP layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer,described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 maycomprise a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, described infurther detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHYlayer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.

FIG. 7 illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented ina wireless communication device according to various embodiments. Inparticular, FIG. 7 includes an arrangement 700 showing interconnectionsbetween various protocol layers/entities. The following description ofFIG. 7 is provided for various protocol layers/entities that operate inconjunction with the 5G/NR system standards and LTE system standards,but some or all of the aspects of FIG. 7 may be applicable to otherwireless communication network systems as well.

The protocol layers of arrangement 700 may include one or more of PHY710, MAC 720, RLC 730, PDCP 740, SDAP 747, RRC 755, and NAS layer 757,in addition to other higher layer functions not illustrated. Theprotocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g.,items 759, 756, 750, 749, 745, 735, 725, and 715 in FIG. 7) that mayprovide communication between two or more protocol layers.

The PHY 710 may transmit and receive physical layer signals 705 that maybe received from or transmitted to one or more other communicationdevices. The physical layer signals 705 may comprise one or morephysical channels, such as those discussed herein. The PHY 710 mayfurther perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC),power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization andhandover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers, suchas the RRC 755. The PHY 710 may still further perform error detection onthe transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decodingof the transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and MIMOantenna processing. In embodiments, an instance of PHY 710 may processrequests from and provide indications to an instance of MAC 720 via oneor more PHY-SAP 715. According to some embodiments, requests andindications communicated via PHY-SAP 715 may comprise one or moretransport channels.

Instance(s) of MAC 720 may process requests from, and provideindications to, an instance of RLC 730 via one or more MAC-SAPS 725.These requests and indications communicated via the MAC-SAP 725 maycomprise one or more logical channels. The MAC 720 may perform mappingbetween the logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MACSDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY710 via the transport channels, de-multiplexing MAC SDUs to one or morelogical channels from TBs delivered from the PHY 710 via transportchannels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through HARQ, and logical channelprioritization.

Instance(s) of RLC 730 may process requests from and provide indicationsto an instance of PDCP 740 via one or more radio link control serviceaccess points (RLC-SAP) 735. These requests and indications communicatedvia RLC-SAP 735 may comprise one or more RLC channels. The RLC 730 mayoperate in a plurality of modes of operation, including: TransparentMode™, Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC 730may execute transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), errorcorrection through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transfers,and concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AMdata transfers. The RLC 730 may also execute re-segmentation of RLC dataPDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM datatransfers, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transfers, discardRLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect protocol errors for AMdata transfers, and perform RLC re-establishment.

Instance(s) of PDCP 740 may process requests from and provideindications to instance(s) of RRC 755 and/or instance(s) of SDAP 747 viaone or more packet data convergence protocol service access points(PDCP-SAP) 745. These requests and indications communicated via PDCP-SAP745 may comprise one or more radio bearers. The PDCP 740 may executeheader compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP SequenceNumbers (SNs), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs atre-establishment of lower layers, eliminate duplicates of lower layerSDUs at re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLCAM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity protectionand integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-baseddiscard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering,deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

Instance(s) of SDAP 747 may process requests from and provideindications to one or more higher layer protocol entities via one ormore SDAP-SAP 749. These requests and indications communicated viaSDAP-SAP 749 may comprise one or more QoS flows. The SDAP 747 may mapQoS flows to DRBs, and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and ULpackets. A single SDAP entity 747 may be configured for an individualPDU session. In the UL direction, the NG-RAN 110 may control the mappingof QoS Flows to DRB(s) in two different ways, reflective mapping orexplicit mapping. For reflective mapping, the SDAP 747 of a UE 101 maymonitor the QFIs of the DL packets for each DRB, and may apply the samemapping for packets flowing in the UL direction. For a DRB, the SDAP 747of the UE 101 may map the UL packets belonging to the QoS flows(s)corresponding to the QoS flow ID(s) and PDU session observed in the DLpackets for that DRB. To enable reflective mapping, the NG-RAN 310 maymark DL packets over the Uu interface with a QoS flow ID. The explicitmapping may involve the RRC 755 configuring the SDAP 747 with anexplicit QoS flow to DRB mapping rule, which may be stored and followedby the SDAP 747. In embodiments, the SDAP 747 may only be used in NRimplementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

The RRC 755 may configure, via one or more management service accesspoints (M-SAP), aspects of one or more protocol layers, which mayinclude one or more instances of PHY 710, MAC 720, RLC 730, PDCP 740 andSDAP 747. In embodiments, an instance of RRC 755 may process requestsfrom and provide indications to one or more NAS entities 757 via one ormore RRC-SAPS 756. The main services and functions of the RRC 755 mayinclude broadcast of system information (e.g., included in MIBs or SIBsrelated to the NAS), broadcast of system information related to theaccess stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance and release ofan RRC connection between the UE 101 and RAN 110 (e.g., RRC connectionpaging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, andRRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance andrelease of point to point Radio Bearers, security functions includingkey management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UEmeasurement reporting. The MIBs and SIBs may comprise one or more IEs,which may each comprise individual data fields or data structures.

The NAS 757 may form the highest stratum of the control plane betweenthe UE 101 and the AMF 321. The NAS 757 may support the mobility of theUEs 101 and the session management procedures to establish and maintainIP connectivity between the UE 101 and a P-GW in LTE systems.

According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities ofarrangement 700 may be implemented in UEs 101, RAN nodes 111, AMF 321 inNR implementations or MME 221 in LTE implementations, UPF 302 in NRimplementations or S-GW 222 and P-GW 223 in LTE implementations, or thelike to be used for control plane or user plane communications protocolstack between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one ormore protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of UE 101,gNB 111, AMF 321, etc. may communicate with a respective peer protocolentity that may be implemented in or on another device using theservices of respective lower layer protocol entities to perform suchcommunication. In some embodiments, a gNB-CU of the gNB 111 may host theRRC 755, SDAP 747, and PDCP 740 of the gNB that controls the operationof one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of the gNB 111 may each host theRLC 730, MAC 720, and PHY 710 of the gNB 111.

In a first example, a control plane protocol stack may comprise, inorder from highest layer to lowest layer, NAS 757, RRC 755, PDCP 740,RLC 730, MAC 720, and PHY 710. In this example, upper layers 760 may bebuilt on top of the NAS 757, which includes an IP layer 761, an SCTP762, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 763.

In NR implementations, the AP 763 may be an NG application protocollayer (NGAP or NG-AP) 763 for the NG interface 113 defined between theNG-RAN node 111 and the AMF 321, or the AP 763 may be an Xn applicationprotocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 763 for the Xn interface 112 that isdefined between two or more RAN nodes 111.

The NG-AP 763 may support the functions of the NG interface 113 and maycomprise Elementary Procedures (EPs). An NG-AP EP may be a unit ofinteraction between the NG-RAN node 111 and the AMF 321. The NG-AP 763services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., servicesrelated to a UE 101) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., servicesrelated to the whole NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 111and AMF 321). These services may include functions including, but notlimited to: a paging function for the sending of paging requests toNG-RAN nodes 111 involved in a particular paging area; a UE contextmanagement function for allowing the AMF 321 to establish, modify,and/or release a UE context in the AMF 321 and the NG-RAN node 111; amobility function for UEs 101 in ECM-CONNECTED mode for intra-system HOsto support mobility within NG-RAN and inter-system HOs to supportmobility from/to EPS systems; a NAS Signaling Transport function fortransporting or rerouting NAS messages between UE 101 and AMF 321; a NASnode selection function for determining an association between the AMF321 and the UE 101; NG interface management function(s) for setting upthe NG interface and monitoring for errors over the NG interface; awarning message transmission function for providing means to transferwarning messages via NG interface or cancel ongoing broadcast of warningmessages; a Configuration Transfer function for requesting andtransferring of RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information,performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 111 viaCN 120; and/or other like functions.

The XnAP 763 may support the functions of the Xn interface 112 and maycomprise XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. TheXnAP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UEmobility within the NG RAN 111 (or E-UTRAN 210), such as handoverpreparation and cancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures,UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN pagingprocedures, dual connectivity related procedures, and the like. The XnAPglobal procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to aspecific UE 101, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RANupdate procedures, cell activation procedures, and the like.

In LTE implementations, the AP 763 may be an S1 Application Protocollayer (S1-AP) 763 for the S1 interface 113 defined between an E-UTRANnode 111 and an MME, or the AP 763 may be an X2 application protocollayer (X2AP or X2-AP) 763 for the X2 interface 112 that is definedbetween two or more E-UTRAN nodes 111.

The S1 Application Protocol layer (S1-AP) 763 may support the functionsof the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, theS1-AP may comprise S1-AP EPs. An S1-AP EP may be a unit of interactionbetween the E-UTRAN node 111 and an MME 221 within an LTE CN 120. TheS1-AP 763 services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services andnon UE-associated services. These services perform functions including,but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UEcapability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transport, RANInformation Management (RIM), and configuration transfer.

The X2AP 763 may support the functions of the X2 interface 112 and maycomprise X2AP basic mobility procedures and X2AP global procedures. TheX2AP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UEmobility within the E-UTRAN 120, such as handover preparation andcancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures, UE contextretrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dualconnectivity related procedures, and the like. The X2AP globalprocedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE101, such as X2 interface setup and reset procedures, load indicationprocedures, error indication procedures, cell activation procedures, andthe like.

The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP/IP layer) 762 mayprovide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP orXnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTEimplementations). The SCTP 762 may ensure reliable delivery of signalingmessages between the RAN node 111 and the AMF 321/MME 221 based, inpart, on the IP protocol, supported by the IP 761. The Internet Protocollayer (IP) 761 may be used to perform packet addressing and routingfunctionality. In some implementations the IP layer 761 may usepoint-to-point transmission to deliver and convey PDUs. In this regard,the RAN node 111 may comprise L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g.,wired or wireless) with the MME/AMF to exchange information.

In a second example, a user plane protocol stack may comprise, in orderfrom highest layer to lowest layer, SDAP 747, PDCP 740, RLC 730, MAC720, and PHY 710. The user plane protocol stack may be used forcommunication between the UE 101, the RAN node 111, and UPF 302 in NRimplementations or an S-GW 222 and P-GW 223 in LTE implementations. Inthis example, upper layers 751 may be built on top of the SDAP 747, andmay include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer(UDP/IP) 752, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocolfor the user plane layer (GTP-U) 753, and a User Plane PDU layer (UPPDU) 763.

The transport network layer 754 (also referred to as a “transportlayer”) may be built on IP transport, and the GTP-U 753 may be used ontop of the UDP/IP layer 752 (comprising a UDP layer and IP layer) tocarry user plane PDUs (UP-PDUs). The IP layer (also referred to as the“Internet layer”) may be used to perform packet addressing and routingfunctionality. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packetsin any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example.

The GTP-U 753 may be used for carrying user data within the GPRS corenetwork and between the radio access network and the core network. Theuser data transported can be packets in any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPPformats, for example. The UDP/IP 752 may provide checksums for dataintegrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the sourceand destination, and encryption and authentication on the selected dataflows. The RAN node 111 and the S-GW 222 may utilize an S1-U interfaceto exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising an L1 layer(e.g., PHY 710), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC 720, RLC 730, PDCP 740, and/orSDAP 747), the UDP/IP layer 752, and the GTP-U 753. The S-GW 222 and theP-GW 223 may utilize an 55/58a interface to exchange user plane data viaa protocol stack comprising an L1 layer, an L2 layer, the UDP/IP layer752, and the GTP-U 753. As discussed previously, NAS protocols maysupport the mobility of the UE 101 and the session management proceduresto establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 101 and theP-GW 223.

Moreover, although not shown by FIG. 7, an application layer may bepresent above the AP 763 and/or the transport network layer 754. Theapplication layer may be a layer in which a user of the UE 101, RAN node111, or other network element interacts with software applications beingexecuted, for example, by application circuitry 405 or applicationcircuitry 505, respectively. The application layer may also provide oneor more interfaces for software applications to interact withcommunications systems of the UE 101 or RAN node 111, such as thebaseband circuitry 6110. In some implementations the IP layer and/or theapplication layer may provide the same or similar functionality aslayers 5-7, or portions thereof, of the Open Systems Interconnection(OSI) model (e.g., OSI Layer 7—the application layer, OSI Layer 6—thepresentation layer, and OSI Layer 5—the session layer).

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows a diagrammaticrepresentation of hardware resources 800 including one or moreprocessors (or processor cores) 810, one or more memory/storage devices820, and one or more communication resources 830, each of which may becommunicatively coupled via a bus 840. For embodiments where nodevirtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 802 may be executedto provide an execution environment for one or more networkslices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 800.

The processors 810 may include, for example, a processor 812 and aprocessor 814. The processor(s) 810 may be, for example, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, agraphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, anASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), anotherprocessor (including those discussed herein), or any suitablecombination thereof.

The memory/storage devices 820 may include main memory, disk storage, orany suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 820 mayinclude, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or nonvolatilememory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random accessmemory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flashmemory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 830 may include interconnection or networkinterface components or other suitable devices to communicate with oneor more peripheral devices 804 or one or more databases 806 via anetwork 808. For example, the communication resources 830 may includewired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB), cellularcommunication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® LowEnergy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communicationcomponents.

Instructions 850 may comprise software, a program, an application, anapplet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of theprocessors 810 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein. The instructions 850 may reside, completely or partially, withinat least one of the processors 810 (e.g., within the processor's cachememory), the memory/storage devices 820, or any suitable combinationthereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 850 may betransferred to the hardware resources 800 from any combination of theperipheral devices 804 or the databases 806. Accordingly, the memory ofprocessors 810, the memory/storage devices 820, the peripheral devices804, and the databases 806 are examples of computer-readable andmachine-readable media.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth inone or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one ormore operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth inthe example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry asdescribed above in connection with one or more of the preceding Figuresmay be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of theexamples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated witha UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above inconnection with one or more of the preceding Figures may be configuredto operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forthbelow in the example section.

The components of FIGS. 1-8 may be used in any of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show respective flows for a first and second methodaccording to a first and second embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a flow 900 for a method to be performed at a source RadioAccess Network (RAN) node according to some embodiments. At operation902, the flow includes configuring a user equipment (UE) for aconditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to a candidatetarget RAN node based on at least one of a first configuration of thesource RAN node or conditions to be met for execution of the conditionalhandover. At operation 904, the flow includes in response to areconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second, configuring the UEfor the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based onthe second configuration by causing transmission of a message to the UEincluding information based on the second configuration.

FIG. 10 shows a flow 1000 for a method to be performed at a candidatetarget RAN node according to some embodiments. At operation 1002, theflow includes configuring a user equipment (UE) for a conditionalhandover of the UE from a source RAN node to the target RAN node basedon at least one of a first configuration of the source RAN node orconditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover. Atoperation 1004, the flow includes in response to a reconfiguration ofthe source RAN node to a second configuration, configuring the UE forthe conditional handover to the target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration by causing transmission of a message to the source RANnode including information based on the second configuration.

In some embodiments, the electronic device(s), network(s), system(s),chip(s) or component(s), or portions or implementations thereof, ofFIGS. 1-9, or some other Fig. herein, may be configured to perform oneor more processes, techniques, or methods as described herein, orportions thereof. One such process is depicted in FIG. 9 or 10.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth inone or more of the preceding Figures may be configured to perform one ormore operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth inthe example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry asdescribed above in connection with one or more of the preceding Figuresmay be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of theexamples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated witha UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above inconnection with one or more of the preceding Figures may be configuredto operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forthbelow in the example section.

EXAMPLES

Example 1 includes an apparatus of a source Radio Access Network (RAN)node, The device comprising: a Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry interfaceto send and receive messages to and from a RF circuitry; and one or moreprocessors coupled to the RF circuitry interface, the one or moreprocessors to: configure a user equipment (UE) for a conditionalhandover of the UE from the source RAN node to a candidate target RANnode based on at least one of a first configuration of the source RANnode or conditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover;and in response to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configure the UE for the conditional handover to thecandidate target RAN node based on the second configuration by causingtransmission of a message to the UE including information based on thesecond configuration by way of the RF circuitry interface.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally,wherein the one or more processor are to configure the UE based on thefirst configuration by causing transmission of a first handover requestmessage to the candidate target RAN node including information on atleast one of the first configuration of the source RAN node or acondition for the conditional handover of the UE from the source RANnode to the candidate target RAN node; processing a first handoverrequest acknowledge message from the candidate target RAN node inresponse to the first handover request message, the handover requestacknowledge message including a conditional handover command based onthe first configuration; and causing transmission of a message to the UEbased on the conditional handover command to configure the UE to executethe conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on thefirst configuration.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 2, and optionally,wherein the one or more processor are to configure the UE based on thesecond configuration by: causing transmission of a second handoverrequest message to the candidate target RAN node including informationon a second configuration of the source RAN node; processing a secondhandover request acknowledge message from the candidate target RAN nodein response to the second handover request message, the second handoverrequest acknowledge message including an updated conditional handovercommand based on the second configuration; and causing transmission of amessage to the UE based on the second conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the candidatetarget RAN node based on the second configuration.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of Example 3, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of Example 4, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 3, and optionally,wherein the a second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the candidate target RAN node to modifyits configuration based on the second handover request message.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of Example 6, and optionally,wherein the indication corresponds to an enumerated information elementthat, when present, is set to true.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of Example 3, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are further to, prior to transmissionof the updated conditional handover command, cause transmission of amessage to the UE including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are to cause a cancellation of theconditional handover after configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are to configure the UE based on thefirst configuration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-11,further including RF circuitry coupled to the one or more processors bythe RF circuitry interface.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, and optionally,further including one or more antennas coupled to the RF circuitry.

Example 14 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediacomprising instructions to cause an apparatus of a source Radio AccessNetwork (RAN) node, upon execution of the instructions by one or moreprocessors of the device, to perform operations including: configuring auser equipment (UE) for a conditional handover of the UE from the sourceRAN node to a candidate target RAN node based on at least one of a firstconfiguration of the source RAN node or conditions to be met forexecution of the conditional handover; and in response to areconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second configuration,configuring the UE for the conditional handover to the candidate targetRAN node based on the second configuration by causing transmission of amessage to the UE including information based on the secondconfiguration.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the first configuration includes:causing transmission of a first handover request message to thecandidate target RAN node including information on at least one of thefirst configuration of the source RAN node or a condition for theconditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to the candidatetarget RAN node; processing a first handover request acknowledge messagefrom the candidate target RAN node in response to the first handoverrequest message, the handover request acknowledge message including aconditional handover command based on the first configuration; andcausing transmission of a message to the UE based on the conditionalhandover command to configure the UE to execute the conditional handoverto the candidate target RAN node based on the first configuration.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 15, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the second configuration includes:causing transmission of a second handover request message to thecandidate target RAN node including information on a secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; processing a second handoverrequest acknowledge message from the candidate target RAN node inresponse to the second handover request message, the second handoverrequest acknowledge message including an updated conditional handovercommand based on the second configuration; and causing transmission of amessage to the UE based on the updated conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the candidatetarget RAN node based on the second configuration.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of Example 16, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of Example 16, and optionally,wherein the second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the candidate target RAN node to modifyits configuration based on the second handover request message.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 19, and optionally,wherein the indication corresponds to an enumerated information elementthat, when present, is set to true.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of Example 16, and optionally,wherein the operations include, prior to transmission of the updatedconditional handover command, causing transmission of a message to theUE including information on the second configuration of the source RANnode.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally,wherein the operations further include causing a cancellation of theconditional handover after configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally,wherein the operations further include configuration the UE based on thefirst configuration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 25 includes a method to be performed by an apparatus of a sourceRadio Access Network (RAN) node including: configuring a user equipment(UE) for a conditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to acandidate target RAN node based on at least one of a first configurationof the source RAN node or conditions to be met for execution of theconditional handover; and in response to a reconfiguration of the sourceRAN node to a second configuration, configuring the UE for theconditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on thesecond configuration by causing transmission of a message to the UEincluding information based on the second configuration.

Example 26 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the first configuration includes:causing transmission of a first handover request message to thecandidate target RAN node including information on at least one of thefirst configuration of the source RAN node or a condition for theconditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to the candidatetarget RAN node; processing a first handover request acknowledge messagefrom the candidate target RAN node in response to the first handoverrequest message, the handover request acknowledge message including aconditional handover command based on the first configuration; andcausing transmission of a message to the UE based on the conditionalhandover command to configure the UE to execute the conditional handoverto the candidate target RAN node based on the first configuration.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the second configuration includes:causing transmission of a second handover request message to thecandidate target RAN node including information on a secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; processing a second handoverrequest acknowledge message from the candidate target RAN node inresponse to the second handover request message, the second handoverrequest acknowledge message including an updated conditional handovercommand based on the second configuration; and causing transmission of amessage to the UE based on the updated conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the candidatetarget RAN node based on the second configuration.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 28, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and optionally,wherein the a second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the candidate target RAN node to modifyits configuration based on the second handover request message.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of Example he sand optionally,subject matter of Example 30, and optionally, wherein the indicationcorresponds to an enumerated information element that, when present, isset to true.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and optionally,further including, prior to transmission of the updated conditionalhandover command to the candidate target RAN node, causing transmissionof a message to the UE including information on the second configurationof the source RAN node.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally,further including causing a cancellation of the conditional handoverafter configuring the UE for the conditional handover to the candidatetarget RAN node based on the first configuration.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally,further including configuring the UE based on the first configurationand on the second configuration using one of X2 Application Protocol(X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) communications.

Example 36 includes an apparatus of a target Radio Access Network (RAN)node, The device comprising: a Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry interfaceto send and receive messages to and from a RF circuitry; and one or moreprocessors coupled to the RF circuitry interface, the one or moreprocessors to: configure a user equipment (UE) for a conditionalhandover of the UE from a source RAN node to the target RAN node basedon at least one of a first configuration of the source RAN node orconditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover; and inresponse to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configure the UE for the conditional handover to thetarget RAN node based on the second configuration by causingtransmission of a message to the source RAN node including informationbased on the second configuration.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of Example 36, and optionally,wherein the one or more processor are to configure the UE based on thefirst configuration by: processing a first handover request message fromthe source RAN node including information on at least one of the firstconfiguration of the source RAN node or a condition for the conditionalhandover of the UE from the source RAN node to the target RAN node; andcausing transmission of a first handover request acknowledge message tothe source RAN node in response to the first handover request message,the handover request acknowledge message including a conditionalhandover command based on the first configuration, the first handoverrequest acknowledge message to cause transmission of a message from thesource RAN node to the UE based on the conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the target RANnode based on the first configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of Example 37, and optionally,wherein the one or more processor are to configure the UE based on thesecond configuration by: processing a second handover request messagefrom the source RAN node including information on a second configurationof the source RAN node; and causing transmission of a second handoverrequest acknowledge message to the source RAN node in response to thesecond handover request message, the second handover request acknowledgemessage including an updated conditional handover command based on thesecond configuration, the second handover request acknowledge message tocause transmission of a message from the source RAN node to the UE basedon the conditional handover command to configure the UE to execute theconditional handover to the target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of Example 38, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 40 includes the subject matter of Example 39, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of Example 38, and optionally,wherein the a second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the target RAN node to modify itsconfiguration based on the second handover request message.

Example 42 includes the subject matter of Example 41, and optionally,wherein the indication corresponds to an enumerated information elementthat, when present, is set to true.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of Example 36, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are to process a cancellation messagefrom the source RAN node for the conditional handover after configuringthe UE for the conditional handover based on the first configuration.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of Example 36, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are to configure the UE based on thefirst configuration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 45 includes the subject matter of Examples 36-44, furtherincluding RF circuitry coupled to the one or more processors by the RFcircuitry interface.

Example 46 includes the subject matter of Example 45, and optionally,further including one or more antennas coupled to the RF circuitry totransmit and receive messages to transmit and receive messages.

Example 47 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediacomprising instructions to cause an apparatus of an apparatus of atarget Radio Access Network (RAN) node, upon execution of theinstructions by one or more processors of The device, to performoperations including: configuring a user equipment (UE) for aconditional handover of the UE from a source RAN node to the target RANnode based on at least one of a first configuration of the source RANnode or conditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover;and in response to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configuring the UE for the conditional handover to thetarget RAN node based on the second configuration by causingtransmission of a message to the source RAN node including informationbased on the second configuration.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of Example 47, and optionally,wherein the instructions include configuring the UE based on the firstconfiguration by: processing a first handover request message from thesource RAN node including information on at least one of the firstconfiguration of the source RAN node or a condition for the conditionalhandover of the UE from the source RAN node to the target RAN node; andcausing transmission of a first handover request acknowledge message tothe source RAN node in response to the first handover request message,the handover request acknowledge message including a conditionalhandover command based on the first configuration, the first handoverrequest acknowledge message to cause transmission of a message from thesource RAN node to the UE based on the conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the target RANnode based on the first configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of Example 48, and optionally,wherein the instructions include configuring the UE based on the secondconfiguration by: processing a second handover request message from thesource RAN node including information on a second configuration of thesource RAN node; and causing transmission of a second handover requestacknowledge message to the source RAN node in response to the secondhandover request message, the second handover request acknowledgemessage including an updated conditional handover command based on thesecond configuration, the second handover request acknowledge message tocause transmission of a message from the source RAN node to the UE basedon the conditional handover command to configure the UE to execute theconditional handover to the target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node.

Example 50 includes the subject matter of Example 49, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 51 includes the subject matter of Example 50, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 52 includes the subject matter of Example 49, and optionally,wherein the a second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the target RAN node to modify itsconfiguration based on the second handover request message.

Example 53 includes the subject matter of Example 52, and optionally,wherein the indication corresponds to an enumerated information elementthat, when present, is set to true.

Example 54 includes the subject matter of Example 47, and optionally,wherein the instructions include processing a cancellation message fromthe source RAN node for the conditional handover after configuring theUE for the conditional handover based on the first configuration.

Example 55 includes the subject matter of Example 47, and optionally,wherein the instructions include configuring the UE based on the firstconfiguration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 56 includes a method to be performed at an apparatus of anapparatus of a target Radio Access Network (RAN) node including:configuring a user equipment (UE) for a conditional handover of the UEfrom a source RAN node to the target RAN node based on at least one of afirst configuration of the source RAN node or conditions to be met forexecution of the conditional handover; and in response to areconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second configuration priorto a change in the conditions for the conditional handover, configuringthe UE for the conditional handover to the target RAN node based on thesecond configuration by causing transmission of a message to the sourceRAN node including information based on the second configuration.

Example 57 includes the subject matter of Example 56, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the first configuration includes:processing a first handover request message from the source RAN nodeincluding information on at least one of the first configuration of thesource RAN node or a condition for the conditional handover of the UEfrom the source RAN node to the target RAN node; and causingtransmission of a first handover request acknowledge message to thesource RAN node in response to the first handover request message, thehandover request acknowledge message including a conditional handovercommand based on the first configuration, the first handover requestacknowledge message to cause transmission of a message from the sourceRAN node to the UE based on the conditional handover command toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the target RANnode based on the first configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 58 includes the subject matter of Example 57, and optionally,wherein configuring the UE based on the second configuration includes:processing a second handover request message from the source RAN nodeincluding information on a second configuration of the source RAN node;and causing transmission of a second handover request acknowledgemessage to the source RAN node in response to the second handoverrequest message, the second handover request acknowledge messageincluding an updated conditional handover command based on the secondconfiguration, the second handover request acknowledge message to causetransmission of a message from the source RAN node to the UE based onthe conditional handover command to configure the UE to execute theconditional handover to the target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node.

Example 59 includes the subject matter of Example 58, and optionally,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.

Example 60 includes the subject matter of Example 59, and optionally,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.

Example 61 includes the subject matter of Example 58, and optionally,wherein the a second handover request acknowledge message includes anindication of an acceptance by the target RAN node to modify itsconfiguration based on the second handover request message.

Example 62 includes the subject matter of Example 61, and optionally,wherein the indication corresponds to an enumerated information elementthat, when present, is set to true.

Example 63 includes the subject matter of Example 56, and optionally,further including processing a cancellation message from the source RANnode for the conditional handover after configuring the UE for theconditional handover based on the first configuration.

Example 64 includes the subject matter of Example 56, and optionally,further including configuring the UE based on the first configurationand on the second configuration using one of X2 Application Protocol(X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) communications.

Example 65 includes an apparatus of a user equipment (UE), the devicecomprising: a Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry interface to send andreceive messages to and from a RF circuitry; and one or more processorscoupled to the RF circuitry interface, the one or more processors to:configure the UE for a conditional handover of the UE from a sourceradio access network (RAN) node to a candidate target RAN node based onat least one of a first configuration of the source RAN node orconditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover byprocessing a first message from the source RAN node to the UE includinginformation based on the first configuration; and in response to areconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second configuration priorto a change in the conditions for the conditional handover, configurethe UE for the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN nodebased on the second configuration by processing a second message fromthe source RAN node to the UE including information based on the secondconfiguration.

Example 66 includes the subject matter of Example 65, and optionally,wherein the first message is based on a conditional handover commandfrom the candidate target to configure the UE to execute the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration, and the second message is based on an updated conditionalhandover command from the candidate target to configure the UE toexecute the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node basedon the second configuration.

Example 67 includes the subject matter of Example 65, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 68 includes the subject matter of Example 67, and optionally,further including a memory coupled to the one or more processors,wherein the one or more processors are to cause first information on afirst configuration of the source RAN node, and second information on asecond configuration of the source RAN node, to be stored at the memory,and to determine an updated configuration of the candidate target RANnode resulting from the second configuration of the source RAN nodeusing the first information and the second information and without usinginformation sent by the candidate target RAN node.

Example 69 includes the subject matter of Example 68, and optionally,wherein the candidate target RAN node includes a first candidate targetRAN node and a second candidate target RAN node, the one or moreprocessors to further determine a configuration of each of the firstcandidate target RAN node and the second candidate target RAN node basedon the first information and the second information, wherein each of thefirst information and the second information includes one of fullconfiguration information or delta information concerning configurationchange information.

Example 70 includes the subject matter of Example 65, and optionally,wherein the one or more processors are to configure the UE based on thefirst configuration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 71 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 65-70,further including RF circuitry coupled to the one or more processors bythe RF circuitry interface.

Example 72 includes the subject matter of Example 71, and optionally,further including one or more antennas coupled to the RF circuitry.

Example 73 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediacomprising instructions to cause an apparatus of an apparatus of a userequipment (UE), upon execution of the instructions by one or moreprocessors of The device, to perform operations including: configuringthe UE for a conditional handover of the UE from a source radio accessnetwork (RAN) node to a candidate target RAN node based on at least oneof a first configuration of the source RAN node or conditions to be metfor execution of the conditional handover by processing a first messagefrom the source RAN node to the UE including information based on thefirst configuration; and in response to a reconfiguration of the sourceRAN node to a second configuration, configuring the UE for theconditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on thesecond configuration by processing a second message from the source RANnode to the UE including information based on the second configuration.

Example 74 includes the subject matter of Example 73, and optionally,wherein the first message is based on a conditional handover commandfrom the candidate target to configure the UE to execute the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration, and the second message is based on an updated conditionalhandover command from the candidate target to configure the UE toexecute the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node basedon the second configuration.

Example 75 includes the subject matter of Example 73, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 76 includes the subject matter of Example 75, and optionally,further including a memory coupled to the one or more processors, theoperations further including causing first information on a firstconfiguration of the source RAN node, and second information on a secondconfiguration of the source RAN node, to be stored at the memory, anddetermining an updated configuration of the candidate target RAN noderesulting from the second configuration of the source node using thefirst information and the second information and without usinginformation sent by the candidate target RAN node.

Example 77 includes the subject matter of Example 76, and optionally,wherein the candidate target RAN node includes a first candidate targetRAN node and a second candidate target RAN node, the operations furtherincluding determining a configuration of each of the first candidatetarget RAN node and the second candidate target RAN node based on thefirst information and the second information, wherein each of the firstinformation and the second information includes one of fullconfiguration information or delta information concerning configurationchange information.

Example 78 includes the subject matter of Example 73, and optionally,wherein the operations further include configuring the UE based on thefirst configuration and on the second configuration using one of X2Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol(XnAP) communications.

Example 79 includes a method to be performed at an apparatus of a userequipment (UE), including: configuring the UE for a conditional handoverof the UE from a source radio access network (RAN) node to a candidatetarget RAN node based on at least one of a first configuration of thesource RAN node or conditions to be met for execution of the conditionalhandover by processing a first message from the source RAN node to theUE including information based on the first configuration; and inresponse to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configuring the UE for the conditional handover to thecandidate target RAN node based on the second configuration byprocessing a second message from the source RAN node to the UE includinginformation based on the second configuration.

Example 80 includes the subject matter of Example 79, and optionally,wherein the first message is based on a conditional handover commandfrom the candidate target to configure the UE to execute the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration, and the second message is based on an updated conditionalhandover command from the candidate target to configure the UE toexecute the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node basedon the second configuration.

Example 81 includes the subject matter of Example 79, and optionally,wherein the message based on the second configuration of the source RANnode is a message including information on the second configuration ofthe source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node without causing transmission of anymessage to the candidate target RAN node including the information onthe second configuration of the source RAN node.

Example 82 includes the subject matter of Example 81, and optionally,further including causing first information on a first configuration ofthe source RAN node, and second information on a second configuration ofthe source node, to be stored at a memory, and determining an updatedconfiguration of the candidate target RAN node resulting from the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node using the first information and thesecond information and without using information sent by the candidatetarget RAN node.

Example 83 includes the subject matter of Example 82, and optionally,wherein the candidate target RAN node includes a first candidate targetRAN node and a second candidate target RAN node, the method furtherincluding determining a configuration of each of the first candidatetarget RAN node and the second candidate target RAN node based on thefirst information and the second information, wherein each of the firstinformation and the second information includes one of fullconfiguration information or delta information concerning configurationchange information.

Example 84 includes the subject matter of Example 79, and optionally,further including configuring the UE based on the first configurationand on the second configuration using one of X2 Application Protocol(X2AP) communications or Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) communications.

Example 85 may include an device comprising means to perform one or moreelements of a method described in or related to any of the Examplesabove, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 86 may include one or more non-transitory device comprisinginstructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of theinstructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, toperform one or more elements of a method described in or related to anyof the Example above, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 87 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, orcircuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in orrelated to any of the Example above, or any other method or processdescribed herein.

Example 88 may include a method, technique, or process as described inor related to any of the Examples above, or portions or parts thereof.

Example 89 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processorsand one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described inor related to any of the Examples above, or portions thereof.

Example 90 may include a signal as described in or related to any of theExamples above, or portions or parts thereof.

Example 91 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol dataunit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of the Examplesabove, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in thepresent disclosure.

Example 92 may include a signal encoded with data as described in orrelated to any of the Examples above, or portions or parts thereof, orotherwise described in the present disclosure.

Example 93 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame,segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or relatedto any of the Examples above, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwisedescribed in the present disclosure.

Example 94 may include an electromagnetic signal carryingcomputer-readable instructions, wherein execution of thecomputer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause theone or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process asdescribed in or related to any of the Examples above, or portionsthereof.

Example 95 may include a computer program comprising instructions,wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause theprocessing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process asdescribed in or related to any of the Examples above, or portionsthereof.

Example 96 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown anddescribed herein.

Example 97 may include a method of communicating in a wireless networkas shown and described herein.

Example 98 may include a system for providing wireless communication asshown and described herein.

Example 99 may include a device for providing wireless communication asshown and described herein.

Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any otherexample (or combination of examples), unless explicitly statedotherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementationsprovides illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise formdisclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a source Radio Access Network(RAN) node, the apparatus comprising: a Radio Frequency (RF) circuitryinterface to send and receive messages to and from a RF circuitry; andone or more processors coupled to the RF circuitry interface, the one ormore processors to: configure a user equipment (UE) for a conditionalhandover of the UE from the source RAN node to a candidate target RANnode based on at least one of a first configuration of the source RANnode or conditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover;and in response to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configure the UE for the conditional handover to thecandidate target RAN node based on the second configuration by causingtransmission of a message to the UE including information based on thesecond configuration.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore processor are to configure the UE based on the first configurationby: causing transmission of a first handover request message to thecandidate target RAN node including information on at least one of thefirst configuration of the source RAN node or a condition for theconditional handover of the UE from the source RAN node to the candidatetarget RAN node; processing a first handover request acknowledge messagefrom the candidate target RAN node in response to the first handoverrequest message, the handover request acknowledge message including aconditional handover command based on the first configuration; andcausing transmission of a message to the UE based on the conditionalhandover command to configure the UE to execute the conditional handoverto the candidate target RAN node based on the first configuration. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processor are toconfigure the UE based on the second configuration by: causingtransmission of a second handover request message to the candidatetarget RAN node including information on a second configuration of thesource RAN node; processing a second handover request acknowledgemessage from the candidate target RAN node in response to the secondhandover request message, the second handover request acknowledgemessage including an updated conditional handover command based on thesecond configuration; and causing transmission of a message to the UEbased on the second conditional handover command to configure the UE toexecute the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node basedon the second configuration.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein thesecond handover request message comprises: a radio resource control(RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein theinstruction to update includes an enumerated information element that,where present, is set to true.
 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein thea second handover request acknowledge message includes an indication ofan acceptance by the candidate target RAN node to modify itsconfiguration based on the second handover request message.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the indication corresponds to anenumerated information element that, when present, is set to true. 8.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the one or more processors are furtherto, prior to transmission of the updated conditional handover command tothe candidate target RAN node, cause transmission of a message to the UEincluding information on the second configuration of the source RANnode.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processorsare to configure the UE based on the first configuration and on thesecond configuration using one of X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)communications or Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) communications.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, further including RF circuitry coupled to the oneor more processors by the RF circuitry interface.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10, further including one or more antennas coupled to the RFcircuitry.
 12. One or more non-transitory computer-readable mediacomprising instructions to cause an apparatus of a source Radio AccessNetwork (RAN) node, upon execution of the instructions by one or moreprocessors of the apparatus, to perform operations including:configuring a user equipment (UE) for a conditional handover of the UEfrom the source RAN node to a candidate target RAN node based on atleast one of a first configuration of the source RAN node or conditionsto be met for execution of the conditional handover; and in response toa reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a second configuration,configuring the UE for the conditional handover to the candidate targetRAN node based on the second configuration by causing transmission of amessage to the UE including information based on the secondconfiguration.
 13. The computer-readable media of claim 12, whereinconfiguring the UE based on the first configuration includes: causingtransmission of a first handover request message to the candidate targetRAN node including information on at least one of the firstconfiguration of the source RAN node or a condition for the conditionalhandover of the UE from the source RAN node to the candidate target RANnode; processing a first handover request acknowledge message from thecandidate target RAN node in response to the first handover requestmessage, the handover request acknowledge message including aconditional handover command based on the first configuration; andcausing transmission of a message to the UE based on the conditionalhandover command to configure the UE to execute the conditional handoverto the candidate target RAN node based on the first configuration. 14.The computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein configuring the UEbased on the second configuration includes: causing transmission of asecond handover request message to the candidate target RAN nodeincluding information on a second configuration of the source RAN node;processing a second handover request acknowledge message from thecandidate target RAN node in response to the second handover requestmessage, the second handover request acknowledge message including anupdated conditional handover command based on the second configuration;and causing transmission of a message to the UE based on the updatedconditional handover command to configure the UE to execute theconditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on thesecond configuration.
 15. The computer-readable media of claim 17,wherein the instruction to update includes an enumerated informationelement that, where present, is set to true.
 16. The computer-readablemedia of claim 12, wherein the operations further include configurationthe UE based on the first configuration and on the second configurationusing one of X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) communications or XnApplication Protocol (XnAP) communications.
 17. A method to be performedat an apparatus of an apparatus of a target Radio Access Network (RAN)node including: configuring a user equipment (UE) for a conditionalhandover of the UE from a source RAN node to the target RAN node basedon at least one of a first configuration of the source RAN node orconditions to be met for execution of the conditional handover; and inresponse to a reconfiguration of the source RAN node to a secondconfiguration, configuring the UE for the conditional handover to thetarget RAN node based on the second configuration by causingtransmission of a message to the source RAN node including informationbased on the second configuration.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinconfiguring the UE based on the first configuration includes: processinga first handover request message from the source RAN node includinginformation on at least one of the first configuration of the source RANnode or a condition for the conditional handover of the UE from thesource RAN node to the target RAN node; and causing transmission of afirst handover request acknowledge message to the source RAN node inresponse to the first handover request message, the handover requestacknowledge message including a conditional handover command based onthe first configuration, the first handover request acknowledge messageto cause transmission of a message from the source RAN node to the UEbased on the conditional handover command to configure the UE to executethe conditional handover to the target RAN node based on the firstconfiguration of the source RAN node.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein configuring the UE based on the second configuration includes:processing a second handover request message from the source RAN nodeincluding information on a second configuration of the source RAN node;and causing transmission of a second handover request acknowledgemessage to the source RAN node in response to the second handoverrequest message, the second handover request acknowledge messageincluding an updated conditional handover command based on the secondconfiguration, the second handover request acknowledge message to causetransmission of a message from the source RAN node to the UE based onthe conditional handover command to configure the UE to execute theconditional handover to the target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the second handover request message comprises: a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) context container including the information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node; and an instruction to update theconditional handover command.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein theinstruction to update includes an enumerated information element that,where present, is set to true.
 22. The method of claim 17, furtherincluding configuring the UE based on the first configuration and on thesecond configuration using one of X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)communications or Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) communications.
 23. Anapparatus of a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a RadioFrequency (RF) circuitry interface to send and receive messages to andfrom a RF circuitry; and one or more processors coupled to the RFcircuitry interface, the one or more processors to: configure the UE fora conditional handover of the UE from a source radio access network(RAN) node to a candidate target RAN node based on at least one of afirst configuration of the source RAN node or conditions to be met forexecution of the conditional handover by processing a first message fromthe source RAN node to the UE including information based on the firstconfiguration; and in response to a reconfiguration of the source RANnode to a second configuration, configure the UE for the conditionalhandover to the candidate target RAN node based on the secondconfiguration by processing a second message from the source RAN node tothe UE including information based on the second configuration.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the first message is based on aconditional handover command from the candidate target to configure theUE to execute the conditional handover to the candidate target RAN nodebased on the first configuration, and the second message is based on anupdated conditional handover command from the candidate target toconfigure the UE to execute the conditional handover to the candidatetarget RAN node based on the second configuration.
 25. The apparatus ofclaim 24, wherein the message based on the second configuration of thesource RAN node is a message including information on the secondconfiguration of the source RAN node, and wherein configuring the UE forthe conditional handover to the candidate target RAN node based on thesecond configuration of the source RAN node without causing transmissionof any message to the candidate target RAN node including theinformation on the second configuration of the source RAN node.